A Monopoly Of Blue Eyes
by FeistyFox
Summary: He had refused to believe in his past, refused to be sucked into the fairytale that had been hurled at him again and again. But it appeared that his past had found him whether he wanted it or not. She was here… sitting right here in his class, this ghost from the ancient past, looking exactly as he remembered, exactly how she did in his dreams and the visions he had been shown.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Acquisition

He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair impatiently as his best recruiter, a one Mr. Ueno, set six file folders in front of him in a neat pile. He took note of the meticulously organized pile and knew this man was either compulsively structured, or extremely nervous to be in a meeting with him. It was very rare he met directly with one of his recruiters, but this was no ordinary matter. He had been waiting for nearly three months for worthy candidates for this position to hit his desk. That was much longer than he generally waited for anything, but with so much money on the line he had forced himself to be patient, which was no easy feat for him. After the last legal fiasco that had cost him five million he lost his temper. The translation on the merger had been the biggest, but not the first, major mistake by his translator. Needless to say, he had now been without a reliable translator for the last two months and twenty-nine days. His company had been relying on computer software, which was really unable to do more than a direct translation. It was unable to pick up on nuances or hidden meanings inside wordplay, which was what legal documents made money on. This position needed to be filled before he lost any more money.

The man before him, who was skirting sixty, bowed low before sitting down on the other side of his desk. It was clear he wanted to please with what he had brought. "After extensive hunting these are the best candidates available, Mr. Kaiba. All of them are competent."

"I require more than competence." He reminded him, unimpressed until he saw real results. "What about Mori?" He asked, referencing a young man that had been pinged on his database as his college entrance exams and achievements were in top percentile in the country.

The man indicated the file on the far left at once. "His translation is excellent and he's fluent in five languages. I would caution you about his personal habits however."

"Explain." He said, opening the file and thumbing through it.

"The young man is clearly gifted." Ueno replied. "But is chronically late, and I strongly suspect dabbling in drugs. He has loose, but followable ties with local branches of 'violent groups'."

He handed the man the folder at once. Business didn't run on tardiness and he refused to have any dealings with crime lords, or anyone associating with them. "No."

The man nodded sharply, and set the folder to the side. "The next three folders contain translators that are well established. Two from Japan and one from Korea. All of them speak three languages including English and Japanese. One speaks Chinese, one Korean, and the last German." Chinese was arguably the more helpful, and English less so, only because he could already speak that fluently himself, as could most of his employees. He didn't need a translator for that. However, he nodded and indicated the other two. "The next is a French national. He recently retired from the military after two decades of honorable service. He's well traveled and speaks four languages. He's respectful and follows instructions exactly. He would be my first choice, although I believe the last candidate would be yours."

"Why?"

"She's a savant." Ueno stated. "She speaks eight languages, five of which you asked me to look for." His eyebrow popped up. He had been impressed with four and honestly hadn't expected anyone he hired to speak more than three of the ten languages he had requested. "The others could be helpful at some point."

"She's fluent in all of them?" He asked to be sure.

"Indeed." The man agreed. "I had her tested extensively."

"You don't like her." He stated, noting the man's short answers and low praise on what should be a golden find for him.

"I do like her." He disagreed respectfully. "But she did not follow the instructions she was given when taking the practical portion of the interview. She's free thinking, which was not on your list of attributes."

"So she failed?" He asked to be sure.

There was a brief hesitation. "She did exceed the time limit that was given to her." He indicated the last folder, which he picked up. "However, she translated the same text as the others, in all eight languages, and then did so again."

He frowned, not understanding, until he pulled out a stack of neatly written pages. Pushing the other folders aside he laid them out, quickly putting the same languages next to one another. As soon as they were laid out he understood. This woman had first translated the fake contract exactly. He expected this had been what she had been instructed to do. Then she had gone back through and highlighted every section that didn't properly translate between languages, and reworded it to make it say what the contract was intended to say. "How long did this take her?"

"An hour and fifteen minutes. She was given an hour just like the other candidates."

"She did each one in that amount of time?" He asked, trying to hide that he was impressed.

"No, all of them."

Now… that was impressive. She must have been writing furiously fast to accomplish that. It was clear the wording was still slightly off on one section, but he hadn't expected a translator to know that. Any translator he hired would be placed with his law team during contracts and mergers to be sure legal jargon wasn't misunderstood. That she had done what he wanted without being told was more than he had expected. That she did it eight languages, one of which he couldn't identify for the life of him, was impressive. He didn't need a mindless idiot, he needed someone who could think for themselves when he was busy.

"This one." He said, handing her folder back. "I want her here no later than the start of next week."

The recruiter nodded, clearly ready to have that done at once. "With your permission I'd like to hire the Frenchman for our European branch."

"Fine." He agreed, knowing that would be helpful and hating to squander a resource. He began to go back to a computer program he was running when Ueno continued.

"And to offer her a standard moving package."

He glanced back over, shocked, which didn't happen often. "She's not Japanese?" He asked, genuinely surprised. Her document in that language had been perfect.

"American I'm afraid, Mr. Kaiba."

He sighed under his breath. Often American's were hard to deal with. They were too free thinking, stubborn, and hard headed. Many of them also got lost in the culture of Japan, which was too rigid for them after being raised in a country that seemingly to him, let them run wild. This woman might not last more than a month, but was so clearly the best of the candidates that he was willing, reluctantly, to roll the dice with her. Still, there was no reason not to have a feasible back up plan. "Yes, the standard package. Keep the other ready for transfer in case this one doesn't work out."

"Of course, Mr. Kaiba." He said, standing up and gathering the documents. "I'll have her here no later than next Tuesday."

"Fine." He agreed, dismissing him with a gesture. "Let HR know so they can take care of the details. I want to meet her first so she's clear about what I expect."

The recruiter bowed again, as low as the first time, and left. As his office door clicked shut he went back to his laptop, satisfied this was resolved at last. With this taken care of he could go back to some other pressing business that needed his attention. If he could get this done he might actually get to go home in time to have dinner with Mokuba. He'd missed having an evening meal with him the last three days, and as his brother was the only person he enjoyed spending time with he had regretted those evenings bitterly. There was nothing to do about those missed nights now, but he could see him tonight if he focused. That, he thought, was a very motivational thought and got him to the end of his work day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Speculation

Walking down the rather stark hallways of the school she tried to beat her frustration back as she read the directions she had been given in the office. It was astronomically unfair that some of her credits from her 'previous school' hadn't 'transferred properly' and she now had to finish high school in this country in order to keep her work visa. She had more important things to do than finish high school and felt she had paid more than enough to that damn hacker to at least give her a valid high school diploma on top of a new name and records. The man was lucky she was now too far away to do anything about it and too desperate to stay to bother going back to her home country.

She was only slightly mollified that at least she only had to attend for six months, the altered records having let her skip two grades and then a semester of her senior year. It was also a small mercy that her work schedule started after school ended, or she had no idea what she would have done. Why the CEO wanted her there in the afternoon and evening rather than a normal nine to five that every other business person followed was beyond her, but she wasn't about to question her unusual good fortune. However, that very positive thought this morning had been wiped out when she had been handed the school uniform, which was frankly a pink and blue nightmare. Whoever designed it needed to seriously reconsider their line of work, or go into designing for strip clubs, because if this skirt was one inch shorter she would consider it obscene rather than downright scandalous.

Feeling truly ridiculous and embarrassed, as she was not one to show much skin in public, she exited the small office bathroom she had been allowed to use and taken the directions to her new classroom stoically. Having missed the morning rush of students headed to class, since she had been meeting with the school guidance counselor, she found herself in empty hallways, hearing only muffled conversations and lectures through the doors she passed. She had been placed in a class of seniors just starting their last semester of school and was meant to go to the very far end of the building where they resided. It seemed in this country the teachers changed classrooms rather than the students who stayed put, save for science lab and gym. It was completely backwards from what she was used to, but at least she would only need to know where one thing was her first day.

Glancing at the door numbers she reached her destination, the last classroom on the left, and gingerly slid the door open, trying not to cause much of a disruption. She was rather shy by nature and personal experience had taught her that staying away from people tended to keep her out of all sorts of trouble. She was at least partially successful with sneaking in. The class didn't seem as if it had started yet and was quite loud, hiding her appearance for a few moments. Students were talking and lounging around in different states of relaxation, some with homework or books out on their desks and some without. All the males were in blue pants and jackets, and all the females in the same ridiculous get up she was. The classroom looked like any other she had been in. There were a number of orderly desks, posters, a potted plant in the window sill, a chalkboard with math equations she recognized, and a few cabinets that in all likelihood held school supplies. Among the throng of two dozen or so students she spotted an older male teacher sitting at a desk. He was ignoring the noise as he scribble on someone's work and she approached him, skirting along the wall. Still, midway there people began to take notice.

Ignoring their interest, because all she wanted was to stay as far under the radar as possible as she got through this, she made it to the small desk. Keeping her attention on the older man as the students nudged one another she cleared her throat softly and held the paper she had been given to him. When he glanced over she bowed the way she was supposed to, with her one hand still outstretched toward him. "Good morning, sir. I'm Sarah Drake. The principal told me I should be in this classroom."

He took the paper and whispers started up behind her as she straightened, crossing her hands in front of herself politely. She was sure a new student was exciting for them, if not for her. She would bore them all to tears in a week and then she would be forgotten, ending up in the background where she wanted to be. "Very well." He pointed to the back corner where there were two empty desks. "Take the free desk next to the window."

"Thank you, sir." Turning, she ignored the stares, whispers, and half a dozen oddly shocked stares, no doubt brought on by her peculiar paleness, and wove her way between students to her new desk. Setting her bag down next to her seat she slid into it gracefully and pulled out a notebook and pencil. She thought that would be appropriate for whatever subject they were about to start, having not paid much attention to her class schedule when it was handed to her. She had to get through it regardless, so she hadn't worried about enough to care. When she put her supplies on her desk and looked up she found the same half a dozen people staring at her openly. She looked them over critically in return, figuring if they could stare so could she.

One boy was very short and had the weirdest hair she'd ever seen, and that was really saying something after interacting with the goth community at her last school. Three colors was a bit much for her taste, but it wasn't her hair. Next to him was a pretty girl with a short brown bob and blue eyes a shade or two lighter than her own. Behind them was a rough looking blonde and a tall brunette boy. Lounging in a chair beside them was another teen with midnight black hair and eyes as green as emeralds. Looking over his shoulder was a boy with hair nearly as light as her own, but still fell short of her absolute white. Although she supposed his handsome chocolate eyes were too dark for him to really be classified as an albino the way she generally was. When they continued to stare back at her she raised an eyebrow, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. She realized this uniform was ridiculous, but she wasn't the only one wearing it, and they had certainly look at her long enough to get their fill of her appearance by this point. "Can I do something for you?" She asked, unsure of what they wanted from her.

They all seemed to jolt out of whatever dreamland they were in. She was thinking they might have a drug problem. The girl came over, approaching her with a friendly and open smile. "Hello, I'm Tea Gardner."

She nodded politely. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sarah Drake."

"Where-"

A sharp rap cut off her question. The teacher grumbled and everyone scattered to their seats. She was thankfully to be in the very back with an empty desk next to her. That was really going to make things easier. She kept that in mind as the next two periods dragged by. She was board inside fifteen minutes. This was the problem, she supposed, with being smart. School was dull as dirt. She took a quiz the math teacher handed out and finished within minutes. Then she sat staring out the window as the other students worked through the problems.

Then they went over more problems and she took notes with most of her attention inside her own head. She had been obsessively agonizing over her meeting this afternoon since she had accepted the job offer. Mr. Ueno had made it very clear that she needed to please the head of Kaiba Corp or she wasn't going to keep this job long, and she so desperately needed to keep this job. She wondered how she could make herself appealing to him, having no real knowledge about the man other than he 'expected perfection and nothing less' from his employees. The period ended as she ruminated anxiously over that, and the fear that he would dislike her for no reason other than he might, and the math teacher left to be replaced by a woman in her early thirties. She was given a history book and thumbed to the page they were discussing. She was going to have to read through this. She wasn't familiar with Japanese history at all, at least none of it that didn't overlap with American or Canadian history. She made a mental note to finish it by the weekend, unless something more important came up, and the door to the classroom opened. She didn't look up but she heard the blond mutter something under his breath to one of his companions. The girl, Tea, hissed at him and she continued to scan the chapter until she felt eyes on her.

An odd shiver ran down her spine and she glanced up to find a tall, handsome, teenager staring down at her as he stood by the empty desk beside her. The oddest sense of recognition washed over her and she found herself staring straight back up at him as she tried to process why he looked so terribly familiar. It also baffled her as to why his deep navy eyes were so wonderfully inviting to her. She didn't know how long they stayed that way before the history teacher cleared her throat. Her head snapped around and snickers erupted from the majority of the class. She felt blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide it with some of her long hair. Beside her the tall boy sat down and sent a scathing glance around the room. It pretty much shut up the lot of them and she wondered why he caused such fear when all she had sensed from him was that odd welcome. Meanwhile, the strange six were now sending meaningful looks at her staring partner before they flicked a few glances at her and turned back to the front, as if disappointed by his utter disinterest in them.

Feeling like she'd walked into something that had been brewing for some time she shook her head and determined that she would have no part in whatever drama these people were participating in, or in the boy next to her who was clearly far too well put together for his own good. Deciding that the boy, and his far too handsome face, must remind her of someone else she ignored him. He seemed to adopt the same strategy and she was left alone, much to her relief.

When the last bell finally rang that afternoon she gathered her things and stood up quickly. She put her bag over her shoulder and was about to walk out the door when the short boy stepped in front of her. She had managed to avoid everyone at lunch, having been whisked away by a student from the welcoming committee that showed her around the school before anyone could try to talk to her again. It seemed these people were not going to let her get away with that a second time. She stopped and looked down at him, figuring bowling him over would be a bit of an overreaction. He sent her a genuinely friendly smile as the blond leaned into the doorframe behind him, helping his friend block her in. The rest of his posse was scattered about the room haphazardly as the classroom cleared, but she could feel them watching and listening. She felt pretty cornered. "Hello, I'm Yugi Moto."

She nodded at him shyly. "It's nice to meet you." She sidestepped him only to have him follow her. She paused and waited to see what was about to happen.

"We're going out to get something to eat." He indicated the others and she noticed the handsome boy that sat next to her huffed in disgust as he headed toward the other door. It was clear he didn't get along with the teenagers talking to her as they were ignoring him fairly obviously. "Would you like to come?"

"No, thank you." She headed toward the door the handsome boy left out of as it wasn't blocked. "But I appreciate the invitation."

"Are you sure?" That came from Tea. "It would be really great to have another girl to talk to."

Okay, these people were weirdly pushy. "I'm sorry. I have somewhere I need to be. Maybe next time?"

With that she fled. She stopped at her locker long enough to change her shoes before rushing out of the building. All she wanted to do was get back to her hole of an apartment, change, and get to her new job. There was no way she could allow herself to be late on her first day. She was turning around a corner as she glanced at her watch when she ran full force into someone. Tripping back she caught her balance and spoke in English in her surprise over the collision. "I'm sorry."

"You should watch where you're going." The handsome teen replied in perfect English.

She blinked and reverted back to Japanese immediately. "You're right. I apologize."

He looked her over, from head to toe, as he put his cell phone into his pocket. "You aren't from Japan." He decided English was more fun apparently. With a mental shrug she followed suite.

"No, I'm not."

"Where are you from?"

"Vancouver." She lied easily.

"Interesting considering you don't have a Canadian accent." Wow. She tilted her head with interest. Who was this guy and how could he recognize a Canadian accent? "Would you like to try again?"

"No." His eyes glittered with an emotion she couldn't identify. "Have a nice afternoon."

"We aren't done." He told her in an annoyingly commanding tone.

"It looks like we are." With that she stepped past him, completely unimpressed with the order. She was done if she said they were done.

He spoke as she took a step past him. "What's your name?"

She saw no reason to answer and was heading toward the closest bus stop. Behind her she heard small beeps and assumed the teen had gone back to his phone. As she turned the corner she heard a voice shout. "Hey, rich boy, did you see her?"

She rolled her eyes as she turned the corner. Great, just great. The teen answered dryly. "Go bark somewhere else, mutt."

Forty minutes later she was dressed smartly with her hair up in an elegant knot and was getting out of her car, which had been a frantic purchase she'd made the day before when she realized the bus didn't run to Kaiba Corp at the time she needed to be there. It had completely wiped out her finances as she pulled out the last of the money from her moving package she had received to put up a very minimal down payment. She would be paying this off for awhile, but she had to be able to get to work on time. The debt really only added to her frantic need to please her new employer and she smashed down her anxiety ruthlessly, very sure no employer in the world wanted an overly anxious employee. At least finding this place had been easy. Kaiba Corporation took up half of downtown and the main building, where she was working, was the tallest of the skyscrapers. She parked easily enough in the underground garage and headed toward the elevator as she scanned the instructions that had been emailed to her. She was supposed to report directly to Kaiba at three-thirty.

When the doors closed and the elevator moved up she took a steadying breath. She needed to be calm and tried to ignore she was in a confined space since she hated those more than anything. She was now a translator for the president of one of the most powerful companies in the country, if not the world. She was going to be paid very well for her skills, assuming she could keep the position. From what she gathered Kaiba was not giving and had little or no patience for incompetence. He expected excellence and she needed to deliver. She needed this job and the security it would give her if she was going to survive.

Glancing at herself in the mirror like walls of the small room she decided she at least looked the part. She was in a sleek grey suit and a high collared white shirt. Unsure of what type of dress was appropriate she went with severely conservative. Her black heels were stylish but didn't make any sort of statement. In her ears she wore plain silver hoop earrings and on her finger was a plain silver band. That was it. Her makeup was at a minimal.

The elevator dinged and she stepped out onto the fortieth floor. Glancing about she saw a reception desk and moved to it quietly. A woman in her forties looked up at her and she saw that she thought she was far too young to be here. Maybe she should have gone with more makeup. "Can I help you?" At least she was polite.

"Yes, miss, thank you. I'm Sarah Drake, the new translator. I was told to come here at three-thirty."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "May I see your ID?"

"Of course." Reaching into her small black purse she removed her ID as well as her work visa from her wallet and gave it to the woman. She looked over both seriously, as if she were looking for it to be a forgery, then handed it back.

"Wait over there." She pointed to a few chairs and continued. "I'll let Mr. Kaiba know you're here."

"Thank you."

The woman nodded and picked up the phone. Moving obediently to the chairs she sat down, intent on making a good impression with everyone she encountered here. The woman spoke to whoever was on the other line for less than twenty seconds before hanging up. Standing, she motioned for her and she got back up. "He wants to see you immediately."

She was almost relieved she didn't have to wait anymore. She followed the woman without a word and they went down a long hall with no doors but the one directly in front of them. The woman knocked briefly then opened the door, which was decorated impressively with the Kaiba Corporation Logo. The secretary waved her in and she stepped inside calmly, although she felt nervous burbles in her stomach. Really, she was terrified. "Sarah Drake, Mr. Kaiba."

The man thanked his secretary without taking his eyes off his computer and her heart sank. Behind her the door clicked closed and she found herself trapped with the tall teenager in her new class. The one she had an awkward stare down with and then lied to and rudely dismissed outside the school. For the love of any and all gods. Why was it she couldn't catch a break? How was it even possible that the head of Kaiba Corporation was in her school, let alone her class? She'd known he was young of course, but not so young that he was still in _high school_. Why was he even in high school? This was simply astronomically unfair. She braced herself for him to take note of who she was as he finished typing and looked up.

He stared at her as surprise raced over his face before he shoved everything away. She'd never seen anyone wipe their face clear of expression in such a manner. She had a feeling she must have shocked him pretty well to get any sort of reaction out of him at all. He waved magnanimously toward the chair in front of his desk as he leaned back and she cursed inwardly. She sat with as much poise as she could and then he simply stared at her with glittering, calculating blue eyes. Refusing to squirm or appear at all uncomfortable with him studying her like she was bacteria under a microscope she stared back, waiting for whatever whim hit him to decide her fate.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Marketing

He was starting to become truly annoyed with school. It wasn't as if he needed to prove anything at this point, other than to the state so he could keep custody of his brother. Why they felt he needed to show dedication to school as a way to determine his devotion to his brother was preposterous. The two were in no way related to one another. While he was now eighteen and by law able to be a guardian, his custody of Mokuba now hinged on these last few months of school. It was ridiculous, but he wouldn't lose him, and he was tired of dealing with lawyers about this. Why he couldn't find one to break through this ridiculous clause he had signed at fifteen to keep his brother he didn't know, but here he was.

It probably wasn't helping that he hadn't slept in nearly a full day, or that he had to deal with his new employee this afternoon. But there was no way around that. He needed to be sure this woman was aware of what he needed, and also understood that she was as good as his new right hand from now on, at least where foreign business was concerned. He should really invest in getting a reliable program to translate. Certainly it was worth the money it would cost him. Computers were so much easier to deal with than people. His new translator better either be pleasant enough to deal with, or quiet when she wasn't supposed to be translating. Otherwise he was going to have to kill her.

With a grumble to himself he walked down the hall from his math class. He'd finished everything for the next week in that subject, one he took with only three other students in the school as they were the only one's able to keep up, so at least he could sleep when he got home tonight. He would not miss anything about Domino High, especially the homework. What an irritant. And why his teachers felt he needed to prove that he could do these simplistic tasks was beyond him when he was running a multibillion dollar corporation. He made more in a day then they would in a lifetime. It was also beyond him as to why he wouldn't allow himself to halfass these things just to get through. But then, no one else could be better than him, it was unthinkable. That thought was reinforced when he walked into his home classroom and spotted Yugi, the only person that ever managed to beat him at anything. Resentment filled him, but he ignored it, sensing an odd vibration in the room. It was mostly noticeable because Yugi and his entire repertoire of idiots was staring at him, appearing mystified… and disturbingly excited.

Ignoring this, because he refused to be sucked into whatever it was this time, he moved to his desk and stopped dead, seeing a girl, a young woman, sitting in the seat that had always been empty beside him. He looked down at her in stunned shock as she flipped through a history book idly. With hair the color of snow and skin nearly the same pale sheen she all but shone in the light coming through the window. _Kisara_. It was all he could think as he stood there staring openly down at her, and in that moment time stood still for him. She was here… sitting right here in his class, this ghost from the ancient past, looking exactly as he remembered, exactly how she did in his dreams and the visions he had been shown. But that was impossible. All of it had always been impossible.

Then she sensed his gaze and looked up. At once he was captured by her eyes. Those pretty, deep blue orbs that so entranced him in his last life caught him up with ease. And despite all his hatred and denial, all his disbelief, he recognized her, sensed the soul resting inside her as his own noticeably resonated with it on a level he could no more explain than understand. He felt as if he had been sucker punched, and for a brief moment he was sure, would have bet his entire fortune, that she recognized him as well. His heart filled with an unimaginable hope and lightness, something he had never felt before, and her perfect pink lips parted nearly imperceptibly. He felt his whole body about to collapse into her, and then it all came crashing down around him.

Behind him the teacher cleared her throat and laughter erupted around the class. The spell was broken, shattered as easily as a dropped mirror, by the amusement of the teenagers in his class by what they suspected was nothing more than teenage interest. Kisara's double jolted at the sound, startled, and he saw color flood her white cheeks, tinging them bright pink as she quickly looked back down at her textbook. Rage filled him, howling at the injustice of such a meeting here of all places, and only years of self control kept him impassive. He sat down, ignoring the teacher calling the class to order as he sent a warning glare around the room. That shut them up, and he wasn't even mollified by their fear as he normally was. He looked forward at the board, as if ignoring her and everyone else, but his whole being was trained on her as she sat beside him, less than two feet away.

For her part she seemed grateful when class started, clearly either embarrassed or unsettled by the attention of the class. As the lesson began she let out a quiet sigh and went back to flipping through her book, clearly forgetting about the encounter within a minute or two. She didn't look over at him, or show any sign of recognition. In the next forty-nine excruciating minutes of class he came to the heart wrenching realization that she had no idea who he was. His heart sank like a rock even as the logical portion of him reminded him that he had hardly recalled his past life, let alone believed in it for years despite an abundance of proof. This girl had no reason to remember it, no more than he had until forced into it.

As lunch rolled around he saw the gang of idiots ready to pounce on her, but she was saved in a fortunate way by a girl he had seen around the halls from the welcoming committee. The girl appeared relieved that she got to escape the room, and he was sure she had also noted that other people were eager to speak with her. He wondered why she was so anxious, but then again Yugi and his gang of morons were rather awful. He assumed their first impression, whatever it had been when he was in his alternative math class, had been about as favorable as any interaction he'd ever had with any of them, which was a pretty low point as far as socialization went. He tried to hide that he tracked her out of the room with his eyes and thought he succeeded.

Tea and Yugi visibly deflated when she left and he saw them share a glance with each other. Knowing very well they had turned their abush to him he got up abruptly and walked out of the room before they could talk to him. Thankfully, no one bothered him as he stood outside under an old tree that had no doubt been standing there longer than the school had. It was his prefered place to eat, or work during his lunch as was more common. It was out of the way and he could see most of the schoolyard, which didn't allow anyone to sneak up on him. Over the last few years his concern over that was less to do with enemies than some of the more aggressive females that had no doubt set their sights on him, or more precisely his fortune. Most of them were vapid idiots, the other few were much more conniving, which was only more despicable to him, largely because he was convinced that if he wasn't wealthy they wouldn't have turned one batting eyelash his way.

For the full forty minute lunch period he was inside the school server, trying to figure out where the hell this girl had come from. Frustratingly, nothing had been inputted into the system yet except her picture with an associated reference number. Obviously the secretaries weren't under nearly as much pressure here as they were at Kaiba Corp. to do their jobs. So, left with nothing but her image he studied it critically, with no fear that anyone would know what it was he was examining. He found he was increasingly flustered that it only confirmed what he was already sure of in his very bones. She was an exact replica of Kisara, from her white hair to her slender collar bones. For the first time in several years he found himself out of control of his emotions. He was rocking crazily between what he could only term giddy delight, panic, irrational affection, and utter animosity. And it seemed no matter what he tried to tell himself one part of him wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and hold her until the world ended and the other part of him wanted her and all the baggage she brought with her as far away from him as humanly possible.

The longer he stood outside the angrier he became, more than annoyed that this girl had dropped into his life out of nowhere simply to unsettle him, and for the first time in his life he was nearly late to class, stalling as long as possible outside before forcing himself to go back. She was sitting there when he came in, clearly trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He continued to try to ignore her for the next three hours, but didn't even come close to being successful for all she was drawing not one iota of attention to herself at all as she sat quietly and unobtrusively taking notes. The worst part was the longer he sat there the less angry he became. He felt some hidden part of him, the one that seemingly woke up when he first saw her, struggling fiercely to get to the surface. He tried to beat it back, not even listening to his civics lecture, but wasn't able to. It began to hum contently at him, or more like her, and he found himself relaxing despite his odd swirl of unsettling thoughts.

He had no idea how a part of him could be happy right now and resented her all over for that as the final bell rang. As the blaring sound filled the room she got up quickly, glancing up at the clock fretfully as she shoved her things haphazardly into her bag. He stood up as she tried to race out of the room and turned toward the other door to avoid her just as she was trapped by Yugi and Joey. Her posture told him that she wasn't happy about being stopped in the slightest. He hesitated for half a moment, which wasn't like him at all, as they tried to make nice with her. While he might hate Yugi and his gang, it wasn't the invitation they offered that irritated him. It was the anxiety he saw bloom on her face at being surrounded, as it was clear she felt as if she was, her eyes darting around the room at the four that were still behind her.

Shoving away the sudden need to save her from the situation he walked out, telling himself this was none of his concern and that he owed her not one thing. He caught sight of her glancing at him and recognizing another escape route as he left. Walking out of the building he moved to the sidewalk where he should be picked up by his driver. Why the man wasn't already here was irritating, but he pushed that aside and pulled his phone back out, navigating back to the school server in the hope something else had been put into her electronic file since lunch.

No sooner did he manage to break in, which really was far too simplistic, than he was nearly bowled over where he stood. He stumbled, barely catching his balance as his head snapped around. More than ready to tear into whatever idiot had crashed into him he felt the words choking in his throat when large blue eyes met his, looking both started and contrite. "I'm sorry." Kisara's double said quickly in English, her hands outstretched to try to pull him upright, but jerking back when she saw the anger in his face.

He straightened himself at once, intrigued that she was speaking English. "You should watch where you're going." He told her in the same language, the words much less cruel than anything he would say to anyone else, but brusque all the same.

Her eyes shimmered with interest when he responded in English, but she switched back to Japanese all the same. "You're right. I apologize."

He took her in again, all but forgetting she had nearly tackled him to the ground. Even in the ridiculous school uniform she was the most lovely thing he had ever seen. The girl was well made by any definition. While her pale coloration was undeniably appealing to him her slim, athletic frame only enhanced her beauty in his opinion. He had never been overly obsessed with curves, but he did very much like the look of a fit woman. While it was clear she had all the… accessories of womanhood, she was certainly not as endowed as most of the females in his class. He found the difference appealing. He kept speaking in English, thinking that might sway her to speaking to him a little more. "You aren't from Japan."

She switched back to English as well. "No, I'm not."

Interesting. "Where are you from?" He asked, giving her his full attention as he forced himself to calm as they spoke, wanting her to relax around him.

"Vancouver." She supplied too quickly, as if she had rehearsed it in the mirror for several hours. Having a great deal of experience with sussing out liars he saw the untruth at once. Not to mention her accent wasn't at all right. He had done business with Canadians on multiple occasions from all over that country and not one of them had sounded like this.

"Interesting considering you don't have a Canadian accent." Surprise lit up her whole face and he pushed on casually. "Would you like to try again?"

"No." She replied bluntly. The part of him that was used to no one saying no was incensed by that. Another part of him like that she refused, like the challenge she suddenly presented to getting his way. He wondered why that was when he very much liked getting his way. She sidestepped around him. "Have a nice afternoon."

"We aren't done." He informed her, wanting answers.

"It looks like we are." She told him in an almost bored way, as if he were to be trifled with.

Clearly his normal approach of demanding things wasn't going to work on her. To his own surprise he dropped it at once, rather than pushing harder. He found himself concerned that their conversation was ending so quickly. He'd barely learned anything. "What's your name?"

The girl completely ignored him, although he knew she had to have heard him. He narrowed his eyes as she fled around a corner and pulled his phone back out to get answers there when he was interrupted yet again. And this time by a person he always hoped would stumble in front of a bus. "Hey, rich boy, did you see her?" Joey asked, sauntering up to him as if they were friends.

"Go bark somewhere else, mutt." He ordered, not bothering to even look at him.

The blond puffed up. "Look, you jerk, I'm tryin' to help you out-"

"Do not for one moment believe that I will ever need help from you in any manner." He interrupted, hearing his car pull up in front of him. "Now go chase a cat, or bury a bone, or whatever it is you do with your time." That said he got into the car, not bothering to wait for his driver to get out and open the door for him. "Kaiba Corp now." He instructed, his eyes locked on his phone as he ignored Joey flailing and spouting inane things at him through the window.

"Of course, Mr. Kaiba." Roland replied, pulling out onto the road at once.

As he saw there was still no information on the server his calendar app popped up, reminding him of his meeting with the new translator within the hour. Pressing his lips together he swiped the notice away and shoved the phone back in his pocket. Clearly he wasn't going to get any answers today. He would just have to bide his time until tomorrow. Until then he needed to focus on his company.

When he got to Kaiba Corp that afternoon he found it running smoothly, which was really in everyone's best interest after the day he had already had. He was off balance and ready to snap at anything that wasn't doing what he wanted it to do, whether that was a person, computer program, or ride at his theme park. Getting to his office he went into his personal bathroom and changed into a suit. Securing his tie as he walked out he booted up his computer, figuring he could at least read through a few emails before the translator showed up.

The task kept him occupied until his phone rang ten minutes later. Reaching over he picked it up. "Yes?"

"You're three-thirty appointment is here, Mr. Kaiba." Yuka told him. The woman had been his secretary since he took over the company three years ago and was one of his favorite employees. She was everything he wanted in a secretary, anticipating his needs before he did.

He glanced at the time, seeing she was ten minutes early. He approved of that. "Impressions?" He queried, trusting her opinion.

"Polite but nervous." She told him, and he could only assume the translator was out of earshot. "Very young."

"Send her in." He answered, not caring one whit how young she was as long as she did her job. He certainly wasn't one to think that youth meant one was incompetent, not with the background he had. He also understood he was one of the few in the business world with that opinion, not that he gave a rat's ass what anyone else thought about who he hired or how he ran his company. He went back to replying to the head of his marketing department and less than two minutes later his door opened. "Sarah Drake, Mr. Kaiba."

Figuring staring right at her would make her more nervous, and not wanting this woman to think she meant more than she did he finished reading before glancing up, leaving her to stand there for a few moments and acclimate herself. When he finally turned his attention to his new employee he felt that same shocking sensation in his stomach he had when he walked into his homeroom this morning. Across the large office from him, still standing next to the door looking like a startled rabbit, was the girl. This had to be some sort of sick joke Wheeler thought up. However, the genuine bewilderment on her face as she stared at him convinced him otherwise.

Realizing he was showing too much all at once he slammed his iron clad control back up. Her eyes flickered at his change in expression and he knew he had already given this woman far too much ground if she had seen he felt anything at all. There was no way she could stay here. There was no way he could allow her to work with him. Not this woman. Not one that dared to challenge who he was or his focus in this life, rather than the crazed vision of his past one he'd had in Egypt. Not one that constantly reminded him of the damn dreams that plagued him on a weekly basis and drove him to near madness. He needed to get rid of her at once. The Frenchmen would do just fine. His mind made up he leaned back in his chair and indicated she could sit. He decided he could at least get some of the answers he wanted before he kicked her out of his office, and hopefully his life. Even as he thought that he felt a corresponding stab of panic in the pit of his stomach.

Walking forward across the large room she moved to where he indicated and sat down, her back straight and her head up. He watched her intently, trying to make her uncomfortable, trying to make her squirm so she would break. He had broken older and more experienced men this way, but after several silent moments where she refused to back down from the silent clash of wills he felt a grudging sort of respect.

He finally broke the silence. "Canada?"

She didn't miss a beat, didn't blink, and he began to quickly calculate her tells. "Washington. The state, not the capital city."

Perfect, she could go straight back there and leave him in peace. He leaned back in his chair, flicking his fingers at the door. "You can go."

"Wait, what?" He saw she understood the dismissal for what it was. For a split second, so fast he almost missed it, he saw raw desperation in her eyes. His stomach twisted unpleasantly at that, but he ignored it. He didn't feel guilt. He didn't have the luxury.

He shrugged. "Go. I don't want you."

Her jaw ticked as he turned his attention back to his computer. He had just lifted his hands to his keyboard when she surprised him. "No." Her voice was filled with barely controlled fury.

His eyes flicked up as he hadn't thought this trepidatious thing capable of any sort of rebellion, and certainly not against him, not now that she knew who he was. "Excuse me?"

She set her shoulders, ready to go toe to toe with him, something that rarely happened. It appeared she prefered fight to flight. "No." She repeated firmly. "I moved to the other side of the world because you wanted me as a translator. I'm here. I'm not leaving."

Despite himself he was amused with that. Amused she thought she could stay when he didn't want her. Still, he supposed he did owe her something for making her come all the way out here. "I'll pay to have you moved back." He told her generously.

Leaning back in her chair she crossed her legs, refusing to get up. "I like it here."

"Good for you." He replied dryly.

Her jaw set in a fully stubborn manner. "I'm not leaving."

His irritation with her challenge was being replaced with grudging respect. As much as he hated being questioned he did respect those that stood up for themselves, those that fought for what they wanted. Still, she wasn't staying here. "There's no law that says you can't live in Domino."

"I'm working here." She informed him boldly.

"No, you're not." He corrected

"Yes I am." She brushed her sleeve absently and he noted her hands shaking ever so slightly with nervousness. "I speak eight languages and I'm learning two more right now. You hired me because I'm the best. If I weren't I wouldn't be here." He couldn't deny that. "The best translators work for the best employers. You're the best employer in the area. I'm working for you."

"Except you aren't." He assured her.

"I am. I'm a good worker. I won't disappoint you." She met his eyes and he saw that same flash of desperation despite her calm and collected tone. He felt his own emotions betraying him. Clearly, for some reason, she needed this position and was terrified she had lost it already. He disliked that she was upset immensely, and that he was the cause of it for no reason other than his hatred of his past and everything to do with it. Making her leave because of it was all but admitting to himself that he was affected by it and it did influence his decisions, and that was unacceptable.

He went back to watching her again as he internally debated, his finger tapping lightly on the arm of his chair. When she refused to break eye contact yet again he spoke, her resolve winning him over despite his hesitation. "What languages do you speak?" He asked at last.

It was clear she thought he was toying with her now, but answered his question at once. "English, Japanese, Mandarin, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Welsh."

"Welsh?" He drawled, as if that were ridiculous.

"Yes, Welsh."

His lip twitched, thinking that was a ridiculous language to bother to learn and she silently seethed. Really, she had no control over those damn emotional eyes of hers at all. He turned his attention to the information about the two other languages she was learning. He hadn't expected her to be able to learn more, or to bother with it as the one's she already knew were more than enough to make her a very decent living. "And what two are you learning?"

"Swedish and Swahili."

Impressive. He had to admit it. But he couldn't just let her stay without some sort of stipulation either. That would make him look weak, as if he could be swayed just by arguing. "I need you to be able to speak Arabic in the next twelve months."

"Fine." She agreed.

"Along with the other two." He reminded her, knowing it was an overwhelming and unfair demand.

"I understand."

"I do hope so. You are a translator." He could tell he had rankled her, was in fact trying to provoke her so he would have any excuse to get rid of her that was valid and wouldn't make him reflect poorly on himself. Still, she had value. He should at least let her get herself fired. It was only fair. "Fine, you work for me. However, no one else knows that."

"Alright." She agreed, puzzled, but relieved she had somehow salvaged the situation for herself.

He clarified, not wanting her to think it was an idle demand. "And you should also know Domino High doesn't allow their students to have outside jobs." Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Keep that in mind if you have the urge to share where you disappear to in the evenings. It could easily get you expelled." She nodded, although it was clear she didn't really understand that rule at all. He knew from speaking with American's that this requirement at Domino high was strange. He had to get special permission to run his own company, which was ridiculous. It was fairly common to have a job in high school in America. He was fairly certain she had one at some point, although it could be nothing like what she was about to do here. "Also ask Yuka to send you a list of appropriate places to shop for clothing. What you have is adequate for everyday, but I need better than that at meetings with outside parties. You need to shine. You're too young to be taken seriously otherwise."

She frowned, but agreed. "I will."

"Yuka will take you to your office and give you your schedule. I expect you to be on time and ready to work. Any questions?"

"No, Mr. Kaiba."

He didn't like her calling him that. It made him feel… distant. "Seto is fine if we're alone or at school." He told her, the words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Her head tilted a little and he cursed his words, now unable to take them back. He supposed it would be awkward for her to call him that at school. "Okay, Seto."

His name rolling off her tongue was music. Ancestors, he had to get her out of here before he completely lost his mind. "That's all. Yuka will take you to HR. They'll have you for the rest of the day. I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded and stood up fluidly. She had her hand on the door when he spoke, knowing he needed to keep control of this or it would be over. The only way to do that was keep the power dynamic in his favor. "And, Sarah?"

She turned her head. "Yes?"

"Lie to me again and I will fire you."

She nodded, her eyes swirling with thoughts, and left quietly. As the sound of the door shutting filled the room he took an audible breath, feeling his heart pounding hard in his chest and wondering how the hell he was supposed to work with her. What had he just agreed to? And what on earth possessed him to let her stay?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Management

He didn't leave the office that night, not until long past the time he should have gone home to his brother. Knowing there would be no rest for him until he got answers he sent Mokuba a text that he would be late and not to wait up for him. Once he was sure everyone but the night shift janitors had gone home he started unraveling this mystery. He hadn't wanted to be interrupted with anything once he started, and had held both his temper and his impatience in check until he was sure there would be no disturbances.

Moving all his attention to his computer he turned off the television in his office, uninterest in the news that was replaying the same six stories it had since this evening. He had no interest in local festivals or petty thefts that had been perpetrated in Domino in the last few weeks. Silence settled around him and only the sound of the keys on his keyboard sounded as he went into his mainframe. As he bypassed his security with an encrypted code the second monitor on his desk came to life. An image of a boy with teal hair and blue eyes appeared looking bored. "Seto, fancy meeting you here, on the Kaiba Corp server."

"Noah." He replied dryly to the sarcastic greeting, not surprised this venture had alerted him. After the little fiasco he'd had with Noah years ago he hadn't been too upset when he thought his consciousness had been deleted in cyberspace. But a few months later he had gotten a shock when his technicians told him there was an odd program running rampant through the servers. Once he isolated it Noah had shown himself, clearly waiting to be caught by him before showing himself. After a rather tense hour or so they had come to an understanding. Whatever had happened in the virtual world had crippled him. There would be no escape for Noah, not anymore, but he wasn't interested in a meaningless existence as that had nearly driven him to insanity already. With few options available to him Noah had agreed to be his internal security in return for memory space to exist in. He might well have refused him if Mokuba hadn't been with him, insisting it was the right thing to do. He had to admit Noah was effective though. He had blocked multiple espionage attempts since he showed back up. "Bored?"

"Unbelievably so. Honestly, you can only surf the web for so long before losing interest."

He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be monitoring Kaiba Corp?"

The boy waved his hand. "It really doesn't take all that much of my attention. Especially when no one is trying to hack into the server and steal all your ideas. Please tell me you have something else for me to do."

He flipped a small hard drive out of his pocket, one human resources had sent up to him minutes after Kisara's double left his office per his demand, and inserted it into the computer. Noah made a slight motion with one of his hands and the file blinked to life. Sarah's picture flashed onto his monitor and the rest of her information appeared below the image of his stepbrother. His company required a great deal of background information and every legal item related to her was now on the screen. Noah processed all of it within moments. "She passed all the interviews. What's the problem?"

Where to even start? He kept it simple, not caring to have his sanity questioned by a virtual child, for all Noah was as old as he was. "She's hiding something."

Noah shrugged without much interest. "Everyone is." Noah's eyes flicked around as he looked at something he couldn't see. "If you don't trust her, fire her. There are more translators available." As he spoke two dozen pictures of various people appeared on the screen, several of which he had already been presented with. "Take your pick."

"I just want to do a little digging." He told him. He had determined there was very little he could do until he could analyze this situation fully, and clearly he couldn't trust himself to make a logical decision about what to do about her without all the information he could get.

Noah eyed him. "This isn't like you. No one is good enough for you to bother with once they blip unhappily on your radar. What's going on?" He flicked his fingers, saying nothing, which only increased Noah's suspicions. "It looks like she's not the only one hiding things."

"I don't actually need your help to do this." He pointed out. "So, would you like to alleviate your boredom or go elsewhere?"

Noah rolled his eyes. "So… You're not unhappy only curious?" He said in way of peacemaking, although Noah knew as well as he did it was only a way to appease him.

"Yes." He lied.

Noah clicked his tongue. "Let's see what I can find then."

The computers started blinking as Noah pulled up everything he could find on her. He started talking before he could read any of the windows that were opening. "You were right, she certainly is hiding something. Naughty thing did lie up and down to your recruiter." A file blinked to the front of the monitor. "Her real name is Sarah Blanche. Her place of birth is Lynden, Washington in the United States. That's very close to the Canadian border if you care to know. She actually does speak more languages than anyone should be able to. She has her age here listed at eighteen, but she's not that old. She'll be seventeen next month." He hummed. "It looks like her school records are as false as her work visa. She should be in her sophomore year, although her grades are consistently excellent and so are all her state and national test records. Five foot five, white hair, blue eyes. I'd say she needs to tan." Noah finished.

He thought he should be furious that she had lied to get a job at his company as he prided himself on his reputation of excellence in his workforce as much as his own inventions. Instead he was only intrigued as to what could have possibly motivated her to go to all the trouble of changing her identity, no doubt illegally, risking deportation and jail time, and moving to the other side of the world. It wasn't exactly something a person did on a whim. He waited, but Noah didn't say anything else as he looked off in the distance. "That's it? That's all there is?" There had to be something else, there had to be be a reason.

"Give me a second." Noah's eyes were flicking about as he no doubt read through lines of code. "I'm following a trail." He raised an eyebrow with interest. Leaning back in his chair he contented himself with looking at the pictures of the other translators that Noah had left up. He did manage to find the prettiest one in the bunch available. "My, my." His eyes went back to Noah. "This one is a clever little thing."

"What?"

Noah waved his hand. "This was professionally done I'm sure. Only a real cyberpunk could have nearly deleted her from existence this way." More pictures appeared. "According to state records her parents died in an automobile accident when she was seven. She lived with her uncle from then on…" Noah frowned as he trailed off.

"Well?"

"It looks like her uncle died four months ago."

"So?" He asked, wondering why that would cause Noah to be interested. People died all the time. She didn't have a monopoly on being an orphan.

"There were some odd circumstances." A police report came up and Noah summarized it. "He was found outside of his home with massive internal burns."

He had never heard of such a thing. "Internal burns?"

"It's often a result of electrocution, but he wasn't near any downed powerlines or energy grids. There were also no reports of storms that day. It looks like the police suspected foul play, but ruled Sarah out as she was unconscious in the house at the time they got there." He wasn't sure what to think about that yet and let him go on. "Or at least that's what they eventually decided since there was no murder weapon she could have used to do that with anywhere near her. Looking at some of the notes on the case at least one detective seems to think a lack of evidence wasn't enough to prove she didn't murder him."

"Why would he think that? Other than her being nearby?"

A faded ID card with an image of a man appeared on his screen. He appeared gaunt and unhealthy, but was otherwise average "I would say motive. Frank Tanner. Age fifty-two. Multiple complaints by neighbors about noise. He spent several nights in the local jail for drunken behavior. He has multiple files in child protective services."

His blood began to boil. He had no sympathy at all for child abusers. "For what?"

"Physical abuse. Doesn't look like they ever found much proof though." Noah was clearly angry as he kept sifting through information. "I doubt they were looking all that hard. Sarah has an extensive medical file. She was admitted to separate hospitals for broken bones and various minor injuries since almost as soon as she was placed in his custody." Anger curled up in him hotly. No child deserved such treatment and as far as he was concerned anyone who did that to them should be put down. "Regardless, any charges that were initially against her were dropped and she was placed in foster care. According to those files she ran from the home she was placed in within hours and hasn't been seen since." He moved his hand again, swiping away excess files, and then continued. "That's all I have on her until her application showed up here. It looks like she submitted it from somewhere in southern California according the IP address associated with it. I'm not sure why she was there though."

He had a good guess about that. "It must be where whoever wiped her record lives."

"That's certainly a possibility."

He mulled over the information for a few moments as he sat there. The girl had lied left and right on her application, not to mention to his government and hers, and it would be easy enough to get rid of her. He could do anything from firing her to getting her arrested with no more than a single phone call to the authorities. It would all be so incredibly easy. As he thought about that, his eyes sliding to the phone setting on the edge of his desk, his hand was shifting toward it when a vision blossomed in his head. He saw himself in strange garb, holding her lifeless body in front of a stone relief of a great dragon. He heard a roar, his favorite monster wailing in grief, and flinched back to reality.

Slowly, he turned his attention back to his monitor, his hand still pointed toward the receiver. Noah was watching him intently, clearly seeing that something was going on. Yes, she had lied, but as far as he could tell it was to escape a hellish life of pain and accusation. He knew what it was like to want a different life, to want more than the pitiful scraps that were thrown at you when one was alone. He knew what it was like to do whatever it took to claw your way out of poverty. So yes, she had lied. It was clear she had been lying for months, but as far as his moral compass went he couldn't fault her. She had found a way out, using the only skill she had, and done a rather admirable job of slipping past any obstacle in her way. The only thing he could actually fault her for was the rather shoddy hacking that lead to him finding any of this out.

Knowing very well that if Noah had found all this someone else would he turned fully back toward his computer. The sound of his blue eyes was still reverberating in his ears and he decided that perhaps if he took care of this properly he would alleviate any feelings of responsibility to her. Perhaps she only looked like Kisara, no matter what his instincts were telling him, but it was enough to make him unstable around her and he couldn't have that. He couldn't allow himself to be compromised and this would even the score surely.

Navigating onto the internet under his most private server, one only he had access to, he immediately started to build a security wall to hide behind before he started on his task. He was careful with it, far more than normal for even his most secretive project, and as he crafted it Noah's watched him with real confusion. "About to get into trouble are we?"

"I wouldn't say that." He disagreed. "I can hardly get into trouble if no one knows I'm doing anything."

Noah frowned at that and leaned back on whatever he was sitting on. "Are you going to hack into a competitor's system?" He queried. "That's rather a lot of coding going into hiding yourself."

"Decided to become a side seat hacker?" He jibed.

"By your own personal accounts you are the most interesting thing on this planet." Noah responded dryly. "I'm simply curious as to what the great Seto Kaiba has in mind."

He rolled his eyes as he finished his program. "Very funny."

That irritating smug grin filled Noah's face and he ignored him as he began his search. Noah watched, no doubt with more than his eyes, as he began to systematically rip through government databases. His stepbrother said nothing until he found what he wanted, having slid easily around security. Finding Sarah's legal documentation he copied it and began to clip loose ends and clean up all the inconsistencies he could find. He also tagged the coding that had generated the false documents and began to follow it out into cyberspace even as he erased all indication that he had been in the server.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked, although it was clear he understood.

"What do you mean?" He asked, brushing him off. "As you can see I've done nothing at all."

"You already knew these were forged. I told you that."

"Yes, you did." He agreed. "But I would prefer no one else notice that."

Noah frowned at that but held his peace for the next hour as he systematically found and replaced every scrap of evidence that the forged documents weren't fully legitimate. Whoever Sarah had employed to change her identity had been skilled, but he certainly wasn't as good as him. No one was. He was also fairly sure that whoever the hacker had been he hadn't been nearly as thorough as Sarah would have liked, but perhaps this was as far as her money got her. It has at least been enough to fool his basic background check and get her through customs. That didn't mean it would be enough to protect her forever and that was something that she sorely needed.

Once he was very sure he had gotten everything he backed out, destroying his own program and sending it to the edges of cyberspace where the bits would never be found. Sneaking back into his own server he smoothed over the data that could indicate he had done anything at all with it tonight and then shut the machine down after deleting the current usage log for the night. Beside him Noah spoke. "That was… very methodical."

"I know." He agreed, turning off the monitor in front of him, although he left Noah's alone. His stepbrother tended to stay in his personal server and could easily keep his monitor on if he wanted.

"Why would you bother with any of that?"

"She has skills I need. It was logical to take care of this before it became a problem."

Noah's eyes narrowed. "You've never had an employee that you didn't feel was replaceable."

"She's a unique circumstance." He replied, feigning disinterest. Although, it would be nearly impossible to find anyone else that could do what she could. His opinion of her as a person had no impact on that assessment. He needed her to help keep things in order here.

Noah wasn't at all convinced. "I'd say more unique than you would like considering you could have blackmailed her with that for the rest of her life. Why the sudden altruism?"

"Loyal employees are much more useful than cornered or scared ones." He reasoned, very sure that Noah remembered his own fiasco with the big five. "She'll work better and harder for me if she thinks she's secure."

"You realize I don't buy one word of that bullshit." Noah told him. Before he could say anything, or decide to say nothing, Noah sighed dramatically and went on. "But you are the boss." Yes, he was. "This has been fun, or at least somewhat interesting, but I think I'll go find something else to do, hopefully with someone with a better sense of humor." He rolled his eyes as Noah sent him another self-satisfied grin and vanished. Reaching over he turned off the monitor and got up. With most of his questions answered he could go home. Anything else he wanted to know could be dealt with after he slept, not that he wanted anything else to do with her. He resolved to keep all their interactions from here on out professional. With his level of focus it would not be a problem.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Assets

Adjusting her purse on her shoulder she looked around with delighted enthusiasm. After her first three days at Kaiba Corp she had her first day off, having started in the middle of the week, and needed to use her time wisely. Armed with her credit card she was ready to go buy some new clothes, per Kaiba's demand. While his criticism of her outfit had initially stung rather badly after all the thought she put into it she supposed she understand his viewpoint. It was doubtful anyone would listen to her if she didn't look like she belonged in a business meeting, and he needed them to if he was going to keep her around. Since there was very little she could do about being young all she could change were her clothes. Even with nothing but credit left to her name she knew she couldn't ignore such a blunt order about it, so here she was, ready to spend money she hadn't even made yet. It was hardly ideal, and had her stomach in knots, but she saw no way around it. Yuka, Kaiba's secretary, had emailed her a list of shops to look at, the bulk of which were in downtown Domino.

Having never been in a city this size before she was a little overwhelmed, but quickly got caught up in the excitement of such a busy place. Having spent her entire life in a small town in the far north, this bustling, warm city was like a giant playground. She soon found herself giddy with delight at not only being in such an interesting city, but being fully unsupervised with no one to tell her when to be home, what she should wear, what errands she needed to run, or what inconsequential thing she had done wrong that would no doubt result in new bruise. This was simply more fun than she could ever remember having, and while she very much intended to buy clothes at some point she found herself nearly continually sidetracked by anything and everything she encountered.

Domino's citizens boasted that while they might not be the biggest city, they were easily the most diverse and technological in the country. She had a strong suspicion Kaiba Corp had a great deal to do with that as it brought people and their money in from all over the world. She was doubtless one of many that had immigrated here for work and she saw signs of that every few blocks. This place sported all sorts of ethnic shops and restaurants that were no doubt meant to appeal to all audiences, while somehow still very much keeping a traditional Japanese identity. Ignoring the food, which was as interesting as unidentifiable, she window shopped along the causeways, enjoying the economic boom the city was having.

She noticed she was getting quite a few stares directed at her and did her best to ignore them. Even in her hometown full of those of northern European descent she had looked different from other people and drew attention. Here, well, it was so clear she was foreign she couldn't get angry. She stuck out so badly she was expecting it when she left her apartment. It probably didn't help that she was wearing jeans, which seemed to be uncommon for women here. Most of them were in dresses or skirts, and every now and then she saw one in shorts. Maybe it was just too hot today to warrant it, but jeans did bring her some amount of normalcy with so many new things all around her. So she did her level best to ignore the gawking as she window shopped.

Several hours after she started wandering around she thought it was probably time to actually get down to do what she came to do. Heading toward one of the addresses she was given she paused to gaze through the window of a furniture shop at the end of a block, thinking she really needed a mattress at the very least, as she was currently sleeping on her floor and using her backpack as a pillow, when someone blasted full force into her. She yelped and tumbled to the ground as a warm weight toppled over her, driving her further into the unrelenting cement. It rolled off her and began tugging on her arm hard. "I'm sorry! Get up! Quick!"

She looked up at a boy with a veritable mane of dark black hair and soft, violet grey eyes. He had panic written all over his face and she was immediately worried. "What's the matter with-"

His eyes darted toward the alley he'd bolted out of. "They're coming!"

She scrambled to her feet, driven up by his fear, very confused. "Who's coming?"

She heard hurried footfall and the young teenager, who couldn't be more than three or four years younger than her, yipped in alarm. "Them!"

Three large men in dark suits and non-descript sunglasses took one look at them and charged at the boy. It was her to turn to yelp even as she twisted away from them. "Are you serious?" Grabbing his hand she pulled him hard to the left and away from the obviously dangerous men. The boy was quick, she'd give him that. He had no problem keeping up with her and she was no slouch in the running department, having spent most of her middle school and high school years on the track and field team. They raced down the crowded sidewalks as they dodged people, his hand latching hard onto hers as they bolted down the crowded streets of Domino. Behind them she heard shouts and grunts as the men tried to keep up with them with people yelling and shouting as they were pushed out or knocked down out of the way. The men might have longer legs, but she and the boy could move through the crowd a lot easier, even holding onto each other the way they were. As they sprinted she panted at him, wondering what the hell was happening. "Why are they after you?"

"Ransom!" He managed to tell her between heavy breaths.

She glanced over at the kid. He wasn't dressed like someone that could be put up for any sort of ransom. He was in a pair of old, faded pants and a pretty uninteresting striped yellow shirt. Around his neck was a duel monster card hanging from nothing but a thin leather cord. Had she seen him in a crowd she would think nothing of him, other than possibly mild interest in all his shaggy hair. She supposed this wasn't the best time to ponder the fashion sense of an apparently wealthy teenaged boy. Turning her attention ahead she glanced around as they flew around a tight corner, looking for any way to avoid the men who were slowly gaining ground on them, and spotted a game shop on the other end of a very crowded square. Dodging left through a big group of people she made sure they were behind them before abruptly stopping their frantic rush forward. The boy tried to pull her forward, but she slapped her hand over his mouth as she hauled him back to her side and followed the crowd calmly. The men had lost sight of them for a few moments when they ran around the last building and she used that to their advantage. "Shhh." She hissed, thankful the crowd didn't seem to bother with them.

He nodded, his eyes alight with understanding, and pressed against her side as he tried to make them as inconspicuous as possible. Luckily, they were behind a bunch of rowdy teens and they were too short to be seen. The suited men blasted behind the group without a glance and when she saw them turn a corner at the other end of the square she shoved the boy toward the front of the game shop, which they had been walking toward since they started tailing the group. Breathing heavily she yanked the door closed behind them as she shoved him roughly inside. The bell over the door rang loudly as she frantically grabbed at the deadbolt at the top and slammed it in place. Panting heavily she backed away from the door quickly as it was all glass. She didn't want the men to see her when they realized they had been duped and circled back. "Geez, kid. You sure know how to find trouble."

Turning around she found they had stumbled into a bit of a party, one she wanted no invitation to. Four of the crazy kids from her school, the one's that kept trying to befriend her with disturbing intensity, were staring at her as she tried to catch her breath. Two of them, Duke and Bakura she thought his name was, were absent. She thought that was something to be grateful for. The boy leaned against the wall with a relieved sigh, his hands on his ribs as he panted. He waved at them in a friendly, if exhausted manner. "Hey, guys." He puffed out.

Yugi seemed alarmed. "Mokuba? Are you alright?" She looked between them, working out quickly that they all seemed more than familiar with one another.

Mokuba, as that was apparently his name, gave the older boy a cheeky smile. "You bet. Can I use your phone?"

"Of course." Yugi said at once, his eyes shifting to her. The concern in his body posture was obvious as he made room for Mokuba to get to the phone on the wall. The boy moved behind the counter and she knew he'd been here before by the way he was acting. Figuring no one was going to hurt the boy here she glanced out the window anxiously as she set her bag on the floor. She didn't see any of the men around looking for them, and moved farther into the shop. The shelves were filled with every sort of game and figurine imaginable. On the walls, in what free space there was, were at least a dozen posters, most of them of duel monsters, the most popular game in the world. Under the counter where Mokuba was speaking rapidly into the receiver to someone, were hundreds of duel monster cards. Many were in foil packets ready to be sold in a group, while others were in individual plastic sleeves, and a few even in glass cases. She supposed those must be the rarer cards, although she knew very little about the game herself.

Once her quick inspection was over she turned her attention to the small group of other teenagers.

"Hello." She greeted, feeling awkward with everyone staring at her.

A tall and extremely well endowed blond stepped out from behind Joey. She was dressed in a matching purple vest and skirt. Under the vest was a tight fitted corset that showed off everything she wanted it to. This woman was certainly not in their class and began to circle her in a predatory fashion. "What have we here?" She demanded boldly, clearly anything but a shying daisy.

She was uncomfortable with the woman's aggressive attitude and her temper came out. "Back off, blondie."

The woman sniffed even as her lip curled up at the corner. She heard Mokuba agreeing to something before he hung up the old phone. Violet eyes narrowed when her attention was drawn away from her and suddenly the woman's face was right in hers. "Spunky."

"More like annoyed." She corrected, her back going ramrod straight. "Seriously, personal space."

The woman chuckled and moved to Joey. She leaned against him in a very familiar manner and she tried not to gag at the sweetness. Mokuba was unfazed by the physical affection. "My brother's on his way. He should be here in ten minutes." The boy had clearly calmed down already and she wondered how when her adrenaline was still off the charts. "He's calling the police too. Sorry if that messes with your shop, Yugi."

"It's not a problem."

That meant she was stuck here until one of the two showed up, although she didn't really want to stick around. There was no way she was leaving the kid alone with the druggies though. She could think of no other reason for them to act like maniacs. She supposed it could have been much worse, she could be trapped with all of them at school, like she always was. Crossing her arms as she got her breath back she leaned against a display case and went still. Tea began to question the boy. "What happened, Mokuba?"

He sighed in annoyance, as if being chased down by well dressed thugs was a minor inconvenience in his day to day life. "I was at the arcade and some goons found me. I managed to wiggle away and took off." He smiled over at her. "I ran into, ummm?"

"Sarah." She supplied quietly.

"Sarah, and we ran." He smiled at her cheerfully. "Now here we are."

"Do you know who they are?" Tristan asked.

"Nope. I've never seen any of them before." He shrugged without real worry.

That wasn't very helpful. She wasn't sure what the police were going to do if there was no way to even begin to identify them. She was fairly certain that describing them as tall men dressed in black suits was all but useless unless the police here had magic to rely on. As she contemplated that she glanced back out the window and spotted one of them coming back around a corner. Her mind raced in alarm. "One is coming back." She said sharply.

"What?" Yugi asked.

"They circled back!" Racing between them she grabbed the boy and shoved him as far back into a corner as she could get him and spotted a large empty box that had clearly been emptied of merchandise and was waiting to be disposed of. Grabbing it she flipped it over and shoved it over him, it covered him completely. "Stay quiet!" She hissed as she stood up straight.

Mokuba grumbled. "You're hiding me under a box?" She felt it move as he tried to push it off. "It's not like they're going to get in here with the door lock-"

Before he could finish the sound of shattering glass filled the shop. Her head whipped up in time to see one of the men stepping through the now empty space where the glass had been, his shoes crunching over the glass. A number of things happened all at once. The man had clearly spotted her through the glass and took a step toward her as Tristan and Joey shouted at him and leapt on him. Tea dove toward the phone, no doubt to call the police to hurry them along, and Yugi yelled for his grandfather, although she had no idea how an old man was going to help. She backed away from the box and toward a door at the other end of the shop, wanting to draw he man away from the his actual target, and thankfully Mokuba had gone completely still and silent.

The man snarled as Joey and Tristan tried to knock him back and somehow threw both of them off. Joey flew backward through the now empty doorway, hitting the sidewalk outside with a grunt, as Tristan was sent crashing through the display case she had been leaning against only a few moments ago. The man growled, his eyes on here. "Where is he?"

Instead of answering she backed up farther. There was no way she wanted to tell him, but she could see the result of that was going to be very unpleasant for her. The man lunged at her and Tea screamed, no doubt nearly deafening anyone on the other end of the phone line. With nowhere left to go she stumbled back through the doorway. Instead of finding herself trapped in a storage closet she found herself in a small living room. Seeing she might have a chance she ran through it, jumping over a couch toward another hallway as a small old man came hurrying out of another room. "And what are you doing back here young lady?" She heard as she ran flat out through the house.

The man wasn't far behind, reaching out and throwing the old man out of the way as he came after her. For her part she was just thankful when she saw a door open to an alley, not doubt propped to let the air flow through to keep the whole house cool. She ran straight out, leaping over the three steps that lead down to the pavement. Landing solidly she dug her feet into the ground and really pushed herself, terrified, but pleased she had drawn the man away from the boy. The chase lasted less than five minutes, although she felt as if it she had been running for hours. Sweat coated her and her lungs burned as the footsteps behind her got ever closer.

As she tried to dodge into yet another alley she reached the end of her starting advantage. The man got too close, snagging her arm and yanking hard. She lost her balance and fell forward onto the dirty, garbage covered ground. He let her fall and she tumbled head over heels until she was stopped by the side wall of a building. Her back slammed into it and she grunted, feeling glass cutting into her upper arm and elbow. Throwing her legs under her she scrambled back, skidding along the wall as the man loomed over her. "I've had enough of you." He stated, breathing even harder than she was. "Where is he?"

She said nothing as her fingers brushed over the neck of a glass bottle. The alley appeared to be littered with them, and it was no doubt the reason her arm was now bleeding. Growling under his breath he reached down to grab her and she threw her hand forward. What she had meant as nothing more as a brief distraction ended rather catastrophically for him. The bottle she surreptitiously grabbed had a jagged edge from where it had no doubt shattered on the cement. One nastily pointed shard ripped across his face and straight over his left eye. The man let out a scream and fell back as blood spurted everywhere.

Terrified by the unexpected sight she dropped the bottle and scrambled up, nicking her palm on the glass as she ran out into the street. She was almost immediately swallowed up by the crowd. Ten feet into the open and she started to spot police officers around and figured someone at the shop must have told them the direction they were headed. Realizing that she might well be interrogated if she went to one of them, and not wanting her background examined too closely for obvious reasons, she quickly followed the general flow of foot traffic until she was well away from both the man and the police. Half an hour later, having convinced herself that she wasn't being followed, she got back to her apartment.

When she got to the door of her studio, which was indeed very small even without any furniture in it, she realized she didn't have a key. It was still in her purse, which she had left at the game shop. Realizing that was the easiest lead in the world, as the bag had her ID, address, and cell phone in it she cursed herself for being so stupid to not go back and get it when she had the chance. Knowing there was nothing she could do about that, and praying the police hadn't noticed it or thought it important she reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair tie that had a few bobby pins attached to it. Taking two she stretched them out until they were flat and inserted them into the lock.

In the four months she'd been on her own she'd learned several helpful tricks including picking locks, at least simple ones, and pickpocketing. While not overly proud of either of the skills they had kept her alive and at least one was helping her today. Within moments she had successfully broken into her own home and quickly shut and locked the door behind her. While her apartment was small it was in a relatively good neighborhood, at least good enough that blue collar, hard working people lived here. The rent was in the moderate range for the city, and there was no notable crime in the nearest few blocks.

Her apartment was bare of everything, because she owned nearly nothing. Her laptop was sitting in one corner plugged into the wall beside her backpack and a neat pile of school books. The few clothes she owned were hanging in the small, closed closet which was set in against the same wall as her bathroom. Her kitchen was pristine as she had only a bowl, some chopsticks which she was finding trickier to use than she anticipated, a pot, and a pan. When she had accepted the job here she had been stunned by the amount she was given to move with. It had been far more money than she had ever seen, but as soon as she got here she realized how naive that had been. It had really just been enough to get her here and into an apartment with so little left over that she had barely managed to set up some basic utilities and get the car.

It would be several weeks, until her first paycheck, for her to afford anything else. The only reason she had even considered more clothes was because Kaiba had insisted on it. She had already guessed that most of her first paycheck would go to paying those off and had resigned herself to living like this for a few months. She supposed at the moment that was the least of her worries. Going into the bathroom she tugged her shirt off and put it on the edge of the sink as she twisted her arm about. Blood had stained her shirt and was now dripping down toward her wrist. Thinking little of that other than it was possible proof she was at a crime scene where she had seriously injured someone she began to clean the cut thoroughly.

Once she had it disinfected with some soap and hot water she realized she had no bandages and sighed in frustration. Looking about for something to help she found nothing put her stained shirt. Wishing it a mental farewell she tore it into a few long strips and wrapped her arm up to stop herself from bleeding until she could get to a store to buy a small first aid kit. Once that was done she twisted her torso and looked herself over in the mirror. Other than the ragged scrape on her arm she was alright. There were a few small bruises on her back and upper right shoulder, but nothing major.

As she was determining she would live someone knocked on her door. Her stomach sank as anxiety welled up in her. Grabbing the remains of her shirt she threw them into the shower and yanked the curtain closed so they couldn't be seen. "Just a moment!" She called in what she hoped was a calm voice. Tripping quietly out of the bathroom she grabbed a long sleeved shirt out of her closet and yanked it over her head as fast as possible so her crude bandage couldn't be seen. As she hurried to the door she pulled her hair down out of the ponytail, as it was a mess, looped the tie around her wrist, and reached up to straighten everything out.

Fearing the police, or one of the suited men, she looked out the peephole and frowned when she spotted the last person she had expected. Standing outside her door was an impatient and irritated Seto Kaiba. Why Kaiba was here was a mystery, but he wasn't the police or anyone trying to attack her. Unlocking the door she opened it slowly and gave what could only be a confused frown. "Why are you-"

"Hello!" Her eyes went to the left and she saw Mokuba standing next to Seto smiling cheerfully.

Her mind turned somersaults as she worked it out. "Uhh. Hi." She replied intelligently. Her eyes darted back up to Seto as she put the pieces together. She had heard around the office that Seto had a younger brother, one he cherished more than anything, and had been told that it would be in her best interest not to question Kaiba where that brother was concerned. She had shrugged that information off, thinking she wouldn't have much to do with him, but clearly this was an extenuating circumstance. "So… he's your brother then."

"Yes." Seto said emotionlessly, his eyes unreadable as he stared unblinkingly down at her.

She tried to block all view of the interior of her apartment with her body knowing what it looked like and not wanting him to know she was living like this as she found it rather shameful. She rather felt as if she had been hit over the head with a brick. He saved her the trouble of politely asking them inside by lifting his hand up between them. Her small bag was dangling from two of his fingers by the strap.

Reaching out she took it and held it to her chest, working out how he found her address. "Thank you." She said warily, not really sure what his motives were for bringing it to her.

Mokuba grinned up at her. "Thanks a lot for helping me. I was worried something might have happened to you what with that thug running you down."

"N-no problem." She stuttered, wondering what he had told Kaiba about their escape. This was awkward. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He replied good-naturedly.

"That's good."

Seto interrupted them, his voice clipped. "Thank you for helping Mokuba. We need to go. I'll see you Monday."

She had never been so happy for such a rude and abrupt goodbye. "Um, right, Monday. See you later." Mokuba waved jauntily and despite herself her lip twitched as his brother turned away and strode back down the hall.

His younger brother took a step closer to her and she smiled down at him. "Don't mind him. He's grumpy because I scared him."

She figured he was grumpy all the time, but let it slide. "I understand. Be careful all right?" She reached into her purse and dug out a business card she had been given on her first day, one of the ones with her personal cell phone number on it. It felt wrong to just let him go this way, and she felt a sort of kinship with him after their adventure. "If you need anything, or get in trouble again, give me a call."

He took the card and it disappeared so fast she wasn't sure she'd ever taken it out as it vanished into his pocket. "I will." He agreed, momentarily serious.

Down the hall Seto realized his brother wasn't with him. "Mokuba!" He snapped.

"Coming!" Mokuba turned back to her quickly. "It was nice to meet you, Sarah."

"It was nice to meet you too. You better follow him or I'm going to get fired."

His eyebrows drew together. "What are you-"

" _Now_ , Mokuba!" Kaiba barked.

"Later." He took off down the hall at amazing speed and she wondered if he got so fast chasing after his long legged brother. Shaking her head she shut the door and locked it securely. Turning around she sank down with her back to the door and let out a low, measured breath. That had been crazy and horrible, and Kaiba was bound to think she was some sort of reckless fool… and she still hadn't managed to buy any clothes. It seemed as if her normal sort of luck had returned to her. She didn't know why she was surprised. Maybe the shops opened early on Sunday, then again, probably not.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Debt and Equity

Having established herself solidly as a loner in her first month in Domino she found herself on her own during her lunch period. She had retreated to the far corner of the school yard, which was now her pattern. There was a small picnic table in this corner, which was at the fringe of the social area and the only place she could eat where she wouldn't be bothered. Behind her the school building shielded her from the glaring noonday sun, as she burned as easily as she breathed, and ahead of her the barred fence let her look at the world beyond the school. Having seen what was past it, she wasn't overly concerned with the view and sat doing her homework quietly as she listened to her MP3 player. She was learning Arabic, per Kaiba's demands, and it was going fairly well between the audio tapes and Bakura, her school tutor.

Getting her schedule changed had been an interesting experience, mostly because she had an audience when she did it. The first day back to school after her strange meeting of the younger Kaiba she had gone into the school office before classes started that morning. Last week she had realized too late that she should have read her schedule when it was given to her. She had been placed in an introductory German language class, which was really useless to her as she spoke it fluently. Thinking that perhaps she could change her schedule, despite being a week into the semester, she figured she could at least ask about it.

As she stood patiently waiting for the secretary to step over to her once she was done with the three students ahead of her she was surprised when Kaiba came in behind her. He made an impatient noise in the back of his throat when he saw the small line and glanced at his watch. She had been wondering how he was going to react to her after this weekend, was rather hoping the incident wouldn't come up at all, because the insecurity about not knowing what he would do made her anxious. Without thinking, and her nerves prodding her to react to him somehow, she ran her mouth. "Afraid you'll miss all that history you don't care about?" She asked.

His eyes snapped up at the sound of her voice and he spotted her in the throng. "Drake."

"Or, you know, Sarah." She told him, wishing she could shut up rather than babble when she was nervous. But instead of shutting up her mouth just kept going, as if she was under some sort of compulsion to talk to him. Sometimes she hated herself. "But seriously, are you in a rush to get to class? You seem to already know everything we talked about last week."

"I'm hardly alone in that." He told her.

That simply wasn't right. "Untrue, I know virtually nothing about Japanese history." She informed him. "That was actually almost interesting."

He eyed her, looking for insincerity. "Why are you here?" He demanded.

"Why are you here?" She threw back.

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

She smiled up at him, amused despite knowing very well she shouldn't bait a man that pretty much had her life in his hands. "Ditto then."

He rolled his eyes and then the secretary spoke. "Can I help you, dear?" She asked, looking frazzled.

She moved forward quickly, not actually caring if he knew why she was here and happy for a reason to stop talking to him despite starting the whole thing. "Yes, I think there was a mix up with my schedule. I was put in German class second period."

"Why is that a problem?" The woman queried. "You need a second language to graduate."

"I speak German." She told her. "I'm fluent in it."

That surprised the woman and she could feel Seto listening intently behind her. Clearly he wasn't bothered by blatant eavesdropping. But then, he didn't seem the type to bother with things like modesty or common curtesy. "Well, we can switch you to another language. You need four credits in one to graduate however."

That didn't really bother her. "That's fine. What other languages do you offer?"

"English and French."

She wrinkled her nose. "I speak those as well."

The secretary clearly wasn't buying that. "You speak English, French, and German?"

"Yes." She agreed. "English is my first language, I was born in the United States. And my mother taught me French."

The woman put her hand on her hip. "Are you trying to tell me you speak four languages fluently?"

She realized she was losing credibility quickly. "Yes." She said. "I don't suppose there's any chance you have Arabic? I need to learn that one." Behind her Kaiba snorted in amusement, and she wondered how often he actually found anything funny. He wasn't exactly known for his sense of humor.

"Wait here." The woman ordered.

She sighed as she watched her vanish into the bowels of the office. "She doesn't believe me at all does she?" She asked him.

"No." Seto said and she turned back around to talk to him, trying to be polite. "No one would believe that."

"What language course are you in?" She asked curiously.

"English."

She tilted her head a little. "But you already speak English, and very well."

"Yes, I know." He replied, not at all humble. "But I don't have an overabundance of time for what they call schoolwork. This makes my life markedly easier."

"I see why they consider you a genius." She replied, amused with him. "Cutting corners like the best of them."

He shrugged unapologetically. "English is the language of business. Everything else I hire for."

"Thank goodness." She said as the secretary came over with the man that had been in charge of her German class.

The older woman spoke. "This is Mr. Hiaki, as you seem to know. He teaches French and German."

"Bonjour." She said at once, realizing quickly what was about to happen. This was a test. What happened next was both entertaining for her and so fast paced the poor language teacher barely kept up with it. He asked her a question in French, which she properly responded to in German, before flipping back to French and asking him something else. He blinked and began to speak faster, clearly not expecting any sort of challenge. She wasn't put off, switching easily between the two languages for several minutes and watching him struggle to keep up with her. Behind her Kaiba was assessing her, she could feel it. When he made three grammatical errors in a single exchange she switched easily back to Japanese. "You're quite good, sir." She told him, although not altogether that good. Not that she would say that.

He shook his head ruefully. "Perhaps, but you're much better." She smiled happily, proud of this one talent she had if nothing else, and he turned to the secretary. "Let me go talk to the principal. It would be a waste of her time to sit in any of my classes. She's well past mastery." That said he turned to her. "What language were you hoping to get into? Or were you wanting to test out?"

"I'd like to learn Arabic." She told him. "But if that's not offered I suppose I need to test out to get the credits."

"Wait over there." He indicated a few seats by the door. "I'll see what we can work out."

"Thank you, Mr. Hiaki." She said gratefully, moving out of the way and sitting down. She caught Seto watching her as she sat gave him a hesitant sort of smile. Really, she did want to get along with him. He narrowed his eyes, almost offended by the friendly gesture, or suspicious of it, before turning to the secretary. He got some sort of waiver paperwork, she wasn't really sure for what, and walked out without looking at her again. Her smile fell at her failure to please or impress him, either of which she felt would be beneficial to her, as she waited. Eventually she had been sent to her first class as they tried to work out what to do with her, and at lunch time was informed there was another student who was fluent in Arabic and willing to tutor her.

It turned out Bakura, one of the boys in her class, would much rather teach to get credits than take another science course. Seeing little choice in the matter, and needing to learn Arabic one way or another she had agreed to it. When she asked how he learned it as they sat in a corner of the library he had told her his uncle, who was an archeologist, had taught him. Overall she couldn't complain. Bakura was a patient and calm tutor, and unlike the other teenagers in his group didn't seem overly interested in pressing her for anything. Generally her time learning was her favorite part of the day.

Having something to look forward to in the afternoon she worked as she ate her lunch, cramming as much into this time as possible. She was out of money completely and the small bowl of rice was all she had. Her financial situation had not improved in the slightest after her first paycheck. All of it had gone into bills, rent, her car payment, and new clothes which she had at least managed to get. It was good she could pay all her bills, but by the time she was done she'd had less than thirty yen left to feed herself for the next two weeks. She had opted for bare basics, which consisted largely of rice, some very cheap flavored noodles, and bag of low price frozen fish she was going to partition out in small slices in the evening. It would at least keep her going, and she had gone on less food for a longer time before. At least now she _had_ food.

Letting out a sigh she continued with her small meal, wishing for nothing more than an apple, or a gift certificate to an all you could eat buffet. At least her next paycheck was coming soon. A steady income would make her life so much better. After this she wouldn't have to be worried about food, or a place to live, or anyone hurting her anymore. Everything about this was good. Her job was good. She was good at her job. Kaiba was pleased with her, even if all he did was nod at her when she did something right, she could tell. So what was two more weeks of being hungry? She'd been hungry for so long it hardly made a difference.

Turning her attention to her history book she continued to read it, trying to get through it since Kaiba now had her working the weekends as well. Not that she was complaining, she didn't have much else to do and her paycheck would be better than she anticipated as he paid her overtime when she got it. She would probably be able to afford a bed frame and mattress soon, luxuries she was sorely missing. Turning the page she continued to scan the text, translating it so fast it was as if she had always been able to read Japanese. She was getting faster all the time, and was sure by the end of the month she would be as fully fluent as anyone born here.

As she worked on her homework she was violently interrupted when there was a shout and Joey, Tristan, and Duke all fell over her table in a pile. She was sure if she hadn't had her earbuds in she would have heard them approaching, but as it was she had no real warning. She let out a shout as they slid across the surface of the table, taking out her book and sending her still mostly full bowl of rice flying. They were arguing and flailing, completely ignoring her as she tried to get out of the way. Sadly, she wasn't quite fast enough and got nailed in the face as Duke's hand flew out as he tried to either hit or grab one of the other two boys. The force knocked her back over the bench, and already half up to escape she lost her balance as she tried to get out of the way of the brawl and hit the ground, landing on top of her MP3.

All at once the fight was ended when Kaiba simply appeared out of nowhere and reached into the fray, yanking Joey out by his collar and hurling him off the table in the opposite direction she had fallen. " _Enough!_ " He yelled with such authority that all three of the teenagers, and the entire schoolyard, including several teachers, froze where they were. Kaiba's eyes were sparking with rage. "While I'm sure we'd all benefit from you killing one another go do it somewhere else!"

"What do you care, Kaiba?" Joey snapped as he got up, brushing dirt off himself as he had been hurled into a rather rough piece of ground.

Seto sent him a scathing look as he leaned over and helped her up as she tried to untangle herself from the bench. Hooking his arms under hers he set her on her feet as if she weighed nothing at all. It was an impressive show of strength. "You're bleeding." He said at a normal volume.

Reaching up she felt her forehead where she had been hit. She noted that Duke had a ring on, it must have cut her temple. "It's fine." She said, looking down at her now ruined rice. That upset her more than anything, but there was nothing to be done. "Thank you." She said distractedly, fighting off her very ingrained reaction to being hit, which was to run away or cower. Moving forward she picked her book up and brushed the dirt off, trying not to look like she was upset. Picking her bag up she wiped more blood off her temple with the back of her hand and headed inside to find a bandage.

As she walked into the school nervous chatter started up and she ignored that too, knowing there would no doubt be any number of rumors about this within the hour. Cursing the three for bringing her into it she found the nurse's office. Ten minutes later she was disinfected, bandaged, and still hungry. She had taken breakfast off her schedule completely, and knowing she wouldn't get to eat until after ten tonight made her both cranky and depressed. Sighing, she thanked the nurse and went to her next class before she needed to. Tossing her book on her desk she pulled her MP3 off her hip and grimaced when she saw the face. It was cracked horribly from where she'd landed on it. She couldn't read the screen at all. Putting one of the small speakers in her ear she tried to get it to play but it was useless. All she got was a single burst of static and then nothing.

With her temper fully frayed, she got up and hurled the ruined device in the trash. It hit the bottom with a bang and she walked angrily back to her desk, pulling her hair out of its ponytail in an effort to hide the bandage as she went. As she threw herself back down she saw Seto walk in, his eyes sliding from her to the trashcan, which was still reverberating from the attack. She said nothing as he glanced in to see what had received the brunt of her frustration, only pulled her homework out and set it aside to turn in. Other people began to file in around Kaiba, skirting him when he didn't move. After a few moments he went to his seat, saying nothing as he sat beside her at his own desk. A moment later and Joey, Tristan, and Duke came in, being pushed rather roughly by Tea. "Go apologize!" The tall brunette snapped. Yugi nodded adamantly in agreement and she hunched her shoulders up in annoyance.

Seto sat watching the scene as the three approached her. Joey stopped in front of the other two. "Look, we're real sorry-"

"You have literally inconvenienced me in every way possible." She snapped, using anger to cover up the lingering feelings of fear and helplessness. "I don't want to hear it. Just go away."

"That's no way to accept an apology." Tristan said.

She glared up at him. "Does it appear to you like I look real open to accepting an apology right now?" She asked.

"Not especially." Tristan replied.

She clicked her cheek and pointed at him. "Well spotted."

"Look." Duke pushed in. "It was a stupid argument that got out of hand. We didn't think-"

"I really think that's a problem you all have most of the time." She interrupted.

"You're kinda unpleasant, you know that?" Joey asked, becoming annoyed.

"I can't imagine why." She said with heavy sarcasm. "Now go away."

"Whateva'." Joey said. "Come on, there's no pleasing this one. Women."

She sent him a scathing look but said nothing else, trying to rein herself in. Seto was watching her out of the corner of his eye and she knew it. She also knew he was analyzing her, judging her. She had a feeling he was compiling data on her the same way he did with computer programs and other companies. So she made herself calm down, becoming impassive again, mostly because she had no idea what it was he was searching for. As class started his eyebrow twitched up and he opened his book, turning his attention away from her. Nothing of interest happened throughout the civics and law lesson and soon they were in a science lecture, which she had before at her last school. Losing interest she felt exhaustion and hunger setting in and her body let her know about it. Her stomach growled and she shifted, beginning to doodle on her notebook, ignoring her body as best she could.

"Now let's see if you understand the basic principal of the digestive system." The teacher said, which she found fully ironic. "Pair up with the person beside you and draw an accurate diagram of what we've been talking about. I'm passing around an empty body diagram for you to sketch on. You may only work with your partner." She said firmly. "And yes, this is a test grade, so I hope you were paying attention." Most of the class groaned as she clicked her mechanical pencil a few times to get ready. "I'm sorry, what was that?" The teacher asked. "You wanted to work alone?"

"No!" Several students, including Joey and Tristan, said adamantly.

"That's what I thought." She replied. "Now pair up and put your books away."

She set her book back in her bag and when she looked up Seto had shoved his desk against hers. He seemed impassive about the whole thing and sat beside her. The teacher set a paper in front of them and he took it, putting both of their names at the top. "Were you paying attention at all?" He asked in a bored sort of way, no doubt expecting he was going to have to do this all himself.

Without a word she took the paper from him and sent him an unimpressed look. He raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge and she reached into her bag and pulled out a pen, more than willing to prove she knew this. He frowned slightly and she began to sketch at a quick clip. He watched her quietly, saying nothing as she worked. The rest of the class was talking or arguing, while they sat silently in the back corner. As she made her way past the pancreas her own stomach growled again and she continued to ignore it. Ten minutes later and she had completed the entire sketch without pause or mistakes and began to label it rapidly. She didn't stop until she got to one of the glands and then hesitated, searching her mind for the word. Kaiba was watching her intently as she hovered over the last blank space. After a moment she grabbed a piece of scrap paper and wrote the word in English in an effort to help jog her memory. Knowing how her mind worked she began to translate it in every language she knew.

She felt his interest increase exponentially as she made a list. It was clear he must have been interested in how her brain processed information, because really being able to speak as many languages as she could was extremely odd. It was also clear that he knew the answer to this, but wasn't going to help her unless she asked. After another minute she finally found the word as she made rapid connections. Feeling better she wrote the right word and circled it on the scrap paper. She was about to write it on their test when he caught her hand over the paper. She looked up at him and he spoke. "Almost." He said. "Look at it again."

Turning back to her writing she frowned. She stared at it for a long time. Finally, not detecting her error, she looked back up at him. "I don't know what I did wrong. That's the right word."

"Yes." He agreed, reaching over and adding a small mark to her writing. "You forgot to add this to the letter. It changes the context of the meaning. Technically you're right, and we would get credit, but it's still incorrect."

"Oh." She said with interest, staring at the mark intently. "Does that happen on all medical terminology?"

"About half."

She processed that for several seconds, storing the information away, and he watched her as her eyes no doubt went unfocused. Then she blinked, coming back, and wrote the right answer on the paper. "Japanese is an interesting language." She remarked.

Her stomach growled yet again as she set her pen down and repressed a sigh. She was so hungry. As she thought that he pressed something into her hand under the desk. She jumped as her fingers wrapped around it on instinct. She felt cool foil and glanced down, seeing he had put a protein bar in her hand. "Don't get caught eating it in class." He said, examining the drawing critically.

She ripped into the foil quietly, nearly out of her head with relief. "Thank you." She whispered sincerely as she yanked a piece off and put it in her mouth when the teacher was looking the other direction. She wolfed the bar down in record time and then shoved the wrapper in her backpack. Seto ignored her as she ate and looked out the window, clearly bored now that this was done. It was clear the rest of the class would be working for some time and she put her head down on her desk, pillowing it in her arms as she waited. Now that her stomach was half full she was sleepy and would have loved time for a nap today, that, and she had a headache from being hit.

The teacher looked back to see both of them completely checked out and came over. She sat up at once, but Seto continued looking out the window impassively, his arms crossed. Their science teacher picked up the test and raised an eyebrow when she saw it was in pen. "Very good." She told them. She set another outline person in front of them. "I believe both of you have a firm grasp on this unit. If you can complete the circulatory system with the same accuracy you can use this class period as a study hall for the rest of the week."

That had Seto's attention snapping back and he took the paper at once, not letting her have a chance this time as he picked up her pen. The teacher shook her head as he started drawing rapidly before going back to walking around the classroom. She wondered what he wanted to work on all week instead of science, or if he was simply bored out of his mind. She watched as he went as fast as she had, and within ten minutes he was labeling. "You're a good artist." She told him as he started labeling. He grunted in reply, clearly agreeing, and exasperation tugged at her. "And humble. It's your most attractive quality."

"Are you done?" He asked sarcastically as he completed the sheet.

"Do you have any more food?" She asked. "That would for sure keep me quiet."

"No." He told her.

"Lame." She pouted.

"Why didn't you bring more than a bowl of rice for lunch then?"

"I didn't even get to eat it." She grumbled.

"That wasn't enough food to fill up a toddler." He volleyed back as he flipped the quiz over and shoved it to the edge of the desk to be collected.

She put her cheek on her hand and pouted out the window, feeling this was all very unfair. "What difference does that make? I still didn't get to eat it."

"It makes a difference because there are only two reasons you would do that."

She turned back to him, wondering what the hell went on in his head. "Enlighten me."

"Either you have an eating disorder or that's all the food you had. And since you just ate that snack bar like you've never seen food before I think we can rule out an eating disorder even if you are slim."

She tried to bluff her way out of it, and it wasn't hard as she had plenty of practice. "Or, conversely, I simply didn't have time to pack anything else this morning."

"That's the only thing you've brought to lunch since you started." He told her.

"It's creepy that you know that." She informed him, not liking that he knew that one bit. "Why are you watching me?"

He was neither embarrassed nor remorseful. "It's important to know about my employees. Why don't you have food?"

This guy was really annoying. "Why don't you have any food?" She asked.

"Mostly because you ate it." He told her. "Now stop avoiding the question."

"Ug, fine." She said sulkily, worried he would fire her if she lied about it. She was sure he hadn't been bluffing about that. "I'm budgeting if you must know."

"Most budgets include food." He pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. "God, you are annoying! I ran out of money all right? Jesus."

He frowned and stared at her. "How did you run out of money?" He asked in real confusion, as if it had never occurred to him that this was a possibility. She supposed if she were a billionaire she would have similar feelings.

" _Wow_." She replied.

"That wasn't an answer." He told her. "What could you possibly need more than food?"

"Um, a place to live?" She said. "You know, roof over my head, light to see by?"

"I gave you plenty of money to cover rent." He told her.

"If by gave me, you mean I earned it." She corrected. "And just as an FYI for those of us that live in normal person world, you have to put a downpayment on an apartment to get it, doubling your rent in the first month. The same applies to utilities, although those tend to vary between thirty and two hundred percent of the monthly payment. So yeah, I hit the end of my paycheck all right?"

He was clearly calculating. "You still should have had-"

"Clothes." She supplied.

That completed his mental math. "I'll have money put in your account." He told her.

Her head reared up. "Um, no. I'm not taking anything from you I didn't earn."

He smirked, as if satisfied with himself. "Ah, so pride is your sin."

"Bite me." She replied sourly, disliking him in this moment.

"Touchy." He threw back. "Consider it an advance on your next pay check." He told her. "I can't have you passing out from lack of food."

"I do not need-"

"I don't care." He said, cutting her off. "And I refuse to argue with you as I'm the one in charge." She narrowed her eyes, her temper rising again. He watched her out of the corner of his eye again. He noted easily that he had angered her, and that she was silently seething in her seat. Oddly, it didn't seem to please him all that much, which she nearly a hundred percent thought it would have. Seto liked to be in control and this was control if ever there was any. "I'm not this generous with most people." He said after a few moments of her enraged silence.

"Lucky me." She replied, frustrated and furious. In less than a minutes he had put her firmly in the place he wanted her, which was under his thumb. She hated being controlled more than anything as it always led to disaster for her, and any goodwill that had been fostered with the food had been negated. She would rather be hungry than get a hand out, because it was more than that, it was a means of manipulation. Her body language went from open to closed in a heartbeat and she turned away from him as much as possible, her shoulder at a sharp angle to his front, clearly showing her dismissal.

There was a long silence and then he spoke again. "Fine, starve then, it makes no difference to me."

She said nothing, although slowly turned so she was facing the front again. She sat there silently, picking at one of her nails as they waited for class to end. Her temper was still bubbling from the whole day, and she was rather surprised he wasn't still prodding her just to get a reaction. After nearly twenty minutes of ignoring one another he spoke. "Do you have a partner for the chemistry project?"

"No, I was going to do it by myself." She told him, wondering why he cared.

"Why make more work for yourself?" He asked. "I'll let you be my partner."

"You'll _let_ me?" She asked, exasperated with his constant feelings of superiority. It wasn't like he was her boss outside of work. "As lovely as that command was I'll pass. I can do it myself."

He huffed in disbelief. "I doubt that."

" _What?_ " She snapped, and heads began to turn as they bickered.

"You obviously need a partner to finish it. It's complex-"

She spluttered in rage at his jab at both her intellect and abilities, and more heads began to turn. His eyes flicked to the side, but she was past caring what anyone in this damn school thought about her. She was still hungry, her head her, she was tired from working from dawn until well past midnight, she had just been hurt yet again, and his endless arrogance broke through the very last shred of her control. In that moment she lost all good sense. "Look, you overbearing pain in the ass, I don't need your help!" Now people were really paying attention. "And in case you haven't checked the scoreboard they seem to love so much in this school, my rank is the same as yours in science and writing, so you can shove that offer right up your polished ass!" Standing up she grabbed her bag, tossed it over her back, managing to clip him on the shoulder with it, and stormed to the front of the class. Stopping in front of their teacher she saw everyone staring and Yugi's mouth was hanging open. She bowed in front of her teacher and straightened, her eyes on the ceiling so she wouldn't start crying, her eyes already watering as she fought them back. "May I have permission to be excused before I commit a crime, Mrs. Eto?"

The woman's lips were pressed together, but she saw understanding in her eyes. "I expect you at your next lesson before the bell rings. I won't excuse you from your next class."

She jerked her head in understanding and whirled around, leaving the classroom and shutting the door quietly but quickly behind her. Retreating the back corner of the library she threw herself down in in a chair to wait. She sat there quietly for ten minutes until the bell rang, fighting the upset back until her eyes dried. While she didn't start crying the full impact of what she had done nearly bowled her over. Her stomach started to roll and she put her head down on the table, covering it with her arms. He would get rid of her now for sure and she would be jobless, and very soon after that homeless. It was her greatest fear, save for her uncle coming back to life, and she really thought she was going to throw up from the stress. "Hello." A kind voice said in English beside her.

She tried to muffle the wet sniff that escaped her as she kept her arms over her head, hunched over the table. She didn't want Bakura, who had very decent to her, to think badly of her. "Hey." She replied miserably.

"He has that effect on everyone if it makes you feel better." Bakura told her as he sat down beside her.

"Never would have guessed." She managed, as she forced herself to sit up.

Bakura smiled at her gently and she felt a smidgen better for a moment. No one had smiled at her like that in a long time, like she was accepted. Bakura was a genuinely nice guy. Of all the other students here she liked him the most, and appreciated his serene and patient disposition. "May I ask what he said to you?"

"He said he would _let_ me be his science partner." She replied. "I think you can infer how the rest of the conversation went."

Bakura smiled again, because clearly he could. "I see. Well, as that's behind us would you like to start on our lesson for the day?"

She very much doubted that was behind her. She'd be paying for it dearly soon. "Joey and Duke broke my ipod." She told him, not even sure if it mattered anymore. "I won't be able to get a new one until next week at the earliest. It's going to slow me down."

His eyebrows came together. "You're really making splendid progress. I didn't realize you were also using a language program to help you. There's no need for that. I'm tracking the progress you're making and reporting it to the language department. As long as you reach the same milestones as students in other languages you'll be fine."

"I don't care about the grade." She told him. "I need to learn the language."

Bakura studied her. "You are an interesting creature. How did you manage to get them to let you learn with me? They usually shove people in German or French if they already speak English."

"I speak those already."

He laughed softly, as if she were kidding, and she sighed tiredly. Bajura saw her exhausted irritation and stopped laughing. "Oh my. Really?" He was suddenly very interested. "How wonderful. You could probably get a job at Kaiba Corp or At Dungeon Dice Monsters next year knowing all of those."

"Lucky me." She replied, thinking that maybe there was another employer that would want her to know this language too. "All right, what are you teaching me today?"

Hours later and she was in her office at Kaiba Corp working diligently on the project she had been given. She was hoping she wouldn't have to deal with Seto again today, or that he had been distracted by something and was too busy to terminate her, and it wasn't an impossible wish. She would often go days without seeing him, especially if she was working on contracts. However, today was clearly not her day, or he wanted to punish her quickly for embarrassing him at school, and called her. Seeing his name flash on her phone's screen she cringed and let her head thump onto her desk. Reaching out she picked up the headset and spoke in her most professional voice as her forehead lay on the cool wood of the furniture. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"I want to look over the contracts. Bring up what you have."

"When would you like me there?"

"Now." The phone clicked and she sat up, hanging hers up as well. Gathering her work she felt her stomach sinking and wondered if he would just fire or or if he was going to demoralize her on top of it. She was really never going to get to eat again. At least she had a place to live for at least a month while she tried to find a new job. Figuring there was no point in delaying the inevitable she headed to his office at once. Three minutes after he hung up she knocked on his door and stepped inside. He was typing quickly at his computer and she shut the door behind her. Moving to his desk she set several neat files on it and sat down.

"I have all but the last two done and reviewed by your law team. The others are in the first draft." She told him quietly.

He took the folders and read through the contracts. When he was done he slid them back to her. "Good." He went back to typing and she felt decidedly confused.

"That's it?" She asked, eyeing him.

"What else would I want from you?" He asked dismissively.

Having braced herself for the worst she found she was once again off balance with him. "Oh." She pulled the folders to her and stood up, scrambling to do her job properly. "I'll have the other two done by the end of the evening. What do you want me to work on next? The merger paperwork or the new forms for the German branch?"

"The forms. I want to go over the merger again before anyone does anything with it." She nodded, but feeling decidedly odd about this sat back down, wondering why she was allowing herself to act insane around him. Really, she should just leave while she could, and yet she was still here. When he heard her he looked up. "You can go."

She watched him for a moment as she braced herself. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you today in school. I still feel you deserved it, but I also realize that my temper may have already had the best of me when we started to argue. So I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

He was silent, his eyes narrowed. She waited to see what he would do, feeling better that at least this was out there even if he was going to get rid of her. Instead, he threw her by being pretty decent. "Apology accepted." He said, which seemed to surprise him as much as her. She cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to continue. "What?" He demanded, irritated.

"Now you say sorry." She blurted out.

"Excuse me?" He asked, outraged.

Welp, it was official, she was mad all the way around. "This is the part where you say sorry about being a jerk and I forgive you. Then we can talk about being lab partners in a normal and civilized way."

"You're really pushing your luck." He informed her, although she saw his eyes glitter with what she was sure was approval.

Her lips curled up at the corners as she sensed his acceptance of her defiance. It was completely unexpected. "I can sit here all night you know."

"Not if I call security." She giggled as the knot in her middle released all at once, knowing he was joking even with that hard assed delivery. She saw his lip twitch at the corner for a split second. "I suppose that it would be a bit dramatic to remove a hundred pound interpreter from my office." She ducked her head, laughing softly, and all the tension between them was gone just like that. "Very well, I'm sorry that I assumed that you needed help. You're clearly capable."

"And that you were a jerk." She prompted, looking back up at him, daring him to say it.

He huffed. "That as well."

"I forgive you." She said, feeling as if she teased him enough. "Would you like to be my science partner? I heard you were looking for one, and really, I'm quite good at it. Especially the practical portions of lab work."

"Fine." He agreed. "We can talk about what we want to do during our free time in science tomorrow. Now go away, I'm busy."

Shaking her head, and feeling remarkably light inside, she got up. "Like I'm not busy? Honestly. You say that like you pay me to sit around and do nothing."

"Out!" He barked, but not meanly. She laughed again as she left, and caught him smiling as she closed the door behind her.

Author's Note: Hello all! Having received a number of messages, both private and on the review page, I just wanted to take a quick second to address my unfinished story in another fandom. I am very aware that it has been hanging there for some time without an update and I am sincerely sorry about that. My life got very busy in the last year and a half. I finished grad school, got a full time job that keeps me busy well over forty hours a week, got married (YAY!), bought a house, and got a puppy. As wonderful as all those things are I have been run ragged and haven't had much time or energy to write until recently. My muse apparently needs a break from that story, and as I got an itch to write in this fandom I thought it would be a good transition back into things. I very much enjoy writing as it's a fun outlet for me, and giving you things to read, (I truly thrive on your happiness and reviews!) and this is just what I'm grooving on right now. And while I understand you want more in the other story, and are a little frustrated, I would like to request that you please be patient. I got a private message the was frankly both cruel and rude about my lack of update in Faith in Fiction, which was both disheartening and hurtful as I do this purely for fun. I guess what I'm really asking is that you keep your reviews on this story about this story so I have feedback on it and I will do my best to complete Faith in Fiction when I feel I can do justice to the end of the story, rather than leave it forever or half-ass it to get rid of it. Thank you all for reading what I post, I do love to entertain you! Really, I do! And I get so excited when I get an email about a new review! I appreciate your understanding and hope that this story is as well loved as my others. I think the characters deserve it :) I hope you all have a lovely day! Cheers!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Reimbursement

Sitting at his desk he continued to ignore this amazingly dull lecture and stared blankly forward. He was now at a point where he was actively counting down time until the end of this horrid cycle if idiocy. As of now he had sixty-seven days, three hours, and, he glanced at his watch, thirty-eight seconds of school left. Closing his eyes for a brief moment he recentered himself, pushing his feelings of frustration and impatience away. While the uselessness of this whole exercise was enraging in itself it wasn't helping that he had a new idea he would much rather be working on for his theme park. He was sure it would be a lucrative addition, assuming he could get the artificial intelligence program to integrate properly.

However, with eight full hours a day devoted to school, at a bare minimum, he didn't have the time to program the way he wanted to. The coding for it would take him weeks even if he had nothing else to attend to, and he certainly couldn't neglect going into the office to run the day to day minutia that needed to be taken care of. With his luck someone would not only steal all his ideas, but somehow blow the building up. While there were many advantages to employing so many highly intelligent workers, there were certain downsides as well. He'd found that many people who were highly skilled and intelligent were eccentric, sometimes bordering on insane, and impulsive when an idea got into their heads. It had lead to some odd accidents when they began experimenting. It was worth the clean up cost though. Some of them were very creative.

As he started to tap his hand impatiently on his desk something very unusual happened. A neatly folded square of paper landed on the left side of his textbook, which was sitting open and unused on his desk. The book itself was only open because the teacher had insisted. He had already memorized it and hardly needed to see it to know what was in it. He stared down at the paper with a frown. He had never once had anyone pass him a note, with the exception of the time Mokuba had hidden one in his textbook when Gozaburo was driving him into the ground. At school he was far too antisocial and intentionally off putting to have anyone trying it. He had received several 'love' notes in his locker, although those all came with strings attached and he had simply tossed them in the trash without opening them.

Glancing sharply over in the direction it came from he saw Sarah sitting innocently at her desk, with all her attention seemingly on the teacher. She was writing diligently in her small notebook which had the exact line pattern as the note on his desk. Not that the missive could have come from anyone else since she was the only person to his left. Having somehow failed to rid himself of her several times now he had come to grudgingly accept her presence over the course of the last two months, or at least acclimate himself to what she did to him no matter how unintentionally. After she had saved Mokuba, and he knew he owed her dearly for that, he simply couldn't contemplate terminating her no matter what affect she had on him. If she'd asked he would have given her nearly anything to repay her, because he was now deeply in her debt, but she seemed to want to avoid mentioning the whole incident, which he was in favor of himself. Still, he found it odd that she didn't bring that day up. She hadn't even asked how Mokuba was, although he had caught her on the verge of asking a few times. And yet she didn't. She didn't ask after him, didn't ask for a reward, didn't ask for anything at all, making it clear to him that she respected that his brother was none of her business. It wasn't something he was used to dealing with, a person with no notable interest in getting anything other than what they earned and keeping their noses out of his affairs. He found that even more puzzling after sussing out her financial situation. Until recently she had practically been living on air, and judging by the brief glance at the miniscule, and very empty apartment she was staying in she was in dire straights.

When she refused to take an advance on her paycheck so she could feed herself he was at a loss as to what to do. There was no other way for him to help her, and it seemed she was aware of that. He wasn't used to having a compulsion to help anyone but his brother, and her stubborn pridefulness got in his way. It was irksome. Why wouldn't she simply let him help her? It wasn't like he was actually giving her anything, only letting her have something she would soon have anyway. Even as he thought that though, he knew very well what the difference was. Sarah, it seemed, would not allow him to buy her. That… that was appealing.

And then, once he accepted that about her and given in to her opinion on it, everything had gone wrong. She had defied him openly in class, brazenly so. And, though he hated to admit it, he had been at least slightly at fault there. It had mostly been her, largely really, but he was generous enough to take some responsibility. And oddly, since that evening in his office where he once again didn't terminate her, she seemed to think they were… he didn't know what. But she had no business relaxing around him in any manner the way she had. And she certainly was blowing every professional boundary out of the water by somehow making him smile when she should have been nothing but terrified of him. He knew very well she was waiting to pack up her office when he called her up that night, but one look at those resigned, beautiful eyes and he knew his half formed thoughts about it were useless. He hadn't even bothered to put on a show about it.

Sarah had no business doing anything but what he hired her to do and yet she was continually making herself a nuisance to his peace of mind. The note was a clear indication that she was not respecting his position. Notes were not passed around to one's boss. They were passed to acquaintances, or friends. He gazed back down at it, knowing that looking at it would only encourage her, but… Well, he _was_ bored. That was the only reason, he assured himself, of picking it up and quietly unfolding it.

As he flattened it out over his book he saw she had written it in English and wasn't sure why for a moment. Then it occurred to him that if it was somehow intercepted it would be much harder for a teacher to read than Japanese. The only one's who were really fluent in the class right now were himself, Sarah, Bakura who hailed from England, and Tea, whose only notable talent in school appeared to be learning that language.

 _Enlighten me. Are Yugi and the weird five on drugs? They are creeping me out._ Despite himself a snort of amusement hit him when he read it, and several heads turned at the slight noise. Tea was staring at him as if he'd grown a second head as his lip curled up at the corner and Tristan, who sat on the other side of him, tried to edge away from him, clearly worried for his safety. He wasn't even surprised by the question. With the way they acted what other conclusion could anyone draw?

Picking up his pen he scribbled a response surreptitiously before refolding it. Sarah had never learned the art of origami, it was clear from the simplistic way she folded it, but at least she had done a neat job of it. Tea's mystified eyes followed the note as it sailed to Sarah's desk in utter amazement. He had never once voluntarily engaged in a civil conversation with anyone here. _No._

She shot him a look of disbelief at the simple answer and he shrugged slightly, although he had no real way to explain any of this that wouldn't sound crazy. Eyebrow raised she scribbled something else and tossed it back. He read it quickly after making sure the teacher still had her back to them as she wrote on the chalkboard. _I don't believe you. That's the only reason they would act that way. And why is Tea stalking me? Does she like girls? Actually, that kind of explains it, and while flattering, not my thing._

His smirk threatened to turn into a smile and he saw Yugi staring openly at him out of the corner of his eye. Sarah also noted it and made a motion for all of them to mind their own business as her eyes darted to their teacher. Clearly, she didn't want an afterschool detention for getting caught. The whole lot of them shot her disbelieving looks but went back to learning biology as he scribbled his reply. _Why would I care who or what Tea is attracted to?_

This time she was waiting for it to come back and opened it without hesitation. He was finding the taboo communication entertaining no matter how archaic and juvenile writing things on a piece of paper was. She lobbed it back over quickly. _I don't know, boredom?_ She replied. _What's going on with them then?_

 _Let me assure you that you will sleep better at night by simply letting this go._ He was finding it oddly difficult to flat out lie to her, but sincerely did not want to drag her into their madness. It was mostly because he hated all of it and also because he wanted her to have nothing to do with it. Even as he passed the note back he knew that answer wouldn't satisfy her, not with all of them hounding her to befriend them at every opportunity.

That was confirmed when the note was back on his desk. _Now you have to tell me._

He sighed under his breath before deciding to simply tell her. If he didn't one of them would do it and he would certainly be described in an insane and disturbing way. He didn't want her thinking he was as mentally ill as the rest of them. Letting her know how crazy they were didn't mean he was involved in their delusions, no matter how real. He sent her an annoyed look as he sent the note back. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she read it. _Do you see the necklace Yugi has on?_ Her eyes went up and she picked it out before going back to the note. _The amazing six believe a dead pharaoh inhabits it. The miracle of the dead man come to life has brought the troop together. As far as Tea goes, she is in love with the dead man. She stalks everyone with cat like intensity in order to make them feel loved and part of the friendship circle._

Her eyebrows drew together and she reread the explanation at least twice, turning the paper over to see if he had put more on the other side despite having room below what he already had on the front. She saw him watching her baffled reaction out of the corner of his eye and replied. _A dead pharaoh? Like from Egypt, ancient Egypt?_

 _Yes._ He tossed back.

 _Shut the fuck up._

He turned his laugh into a cough behind his hand, delightfully shocked by the crude statement by her when she was always so sweetly and consciously polite. He was actually very sure that she would never actually say that out loud and was half sure she knew it was scandalous to write it down, but wanted to see his reaction. Several people jumped or began to move about uncomfortably at the sound and he turned the page of his book over to hide the note in case anyone looked over to see what he was reacting to. Even Joey seemed nervous by his amusement, and he was too stupid to be nervous about anything. The teacher sensed the shift in the atmosphere and turned to face the class. "Is something wrong, Mr. Wheeler?"

"I think Kaiba might be having a stroke." He told her.

The old woman wasn't amused. "And why is that?"

"I think he just laughed."

The class erupted with snickers as he put on his bored expression and stared at Joey unblinkingly. Sarah was keeping her face down, pretending to read a passage in their books while looking uninterested in what was happening. It was a good move as she always acted that way no matter what drama was unfolding in the class. For his part he glanced up at the teacher, because open eye contact tended to make others feel the one staring was innocent, who rapped her knuckles on the desk. "Quiet! Is there a problem, Mr. Kaiba?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm aware of. I think the mutt is hallucinating. It was only a matter of time before what little self awareness he had escaped."

"You jerk!" Joey tried to stand up to get at him, but Tristan and Bakura grabbed him and hauled him back down.

Their teacher was not pleased at all. "Mr. Wheeler, I am tired of your interruptions. Settle down or you can spend the afternoon sitting in detention." The blond seethed as he smirked. "And, Mr. Kaiba, try to keep the sharp tongue of yours from cutting someone in half. Now, if we could return to the Muromachi period…" The lesson resumed and he saw Sarah tap her foot and glance at the clock as things settled down, clearly thinking the conversation was over. He supposed it was, but as the class got back underway the edge of the note sticking out from the page kept tugging at his attention. Deciding that it had been a pleasant distraction he started writing on it again.

Five minutes later, when the class settled back down, he sent it over. The paper fell on her notebook and she appeared surprised that it was back in her possession. _Your vocabulary is impressive. Care to tell me how many languages you're capable of cursing in?_

A small smile appeared on her face as she replied. _All of them, but French is the best. Very descriptive._

 _I don't know what I was expecting. And as far as I know they are insane. I try to avoid them, but sadly keep getting sucked in._

He could see that Sarah was pleased he was still communicating with her as she scribble secretively. _I'm afraid to ask what that means. Exactly how many dramas are going on in this class as we speak?_

 _At least thirty-two that I know of. Considering I don't care or want to know, I would bet at least twice as many._

 _You don't strike me as a betting man._

 _I have my moments. For instance, I bet I could get Joey into detention in the next five minutes._

She hid the spreading smile behind her hand as she wrote back. _You're just bored aren't you?_

 _As if you aren't. We need a new sheet of paper._

She folded the note and shoved it under her book and ripped out a new sheet. _I'd be more impressed if you could get Tea out of my hair. Any advice?_

 _Don't ask me. After three years of systematically pushing, insulting, yelling, and goading she's still after me._ He told her. _I even threatened a restraining order, but it wasn't worth all the paperwork._

She sighed tragically, if quietly, and his lip curled up again. Then she came up with an idea. _Maybe we could get her on drugs and then she would focus on something other than harassing the crap out of us._

 _You're on your own. She's left me alone more than usual now that you're here._

That had her thinking. _You're not much help really._

He smirked. _If you're looking for help you've come to the wrong place._

 _I walked into the insane asylum. I see that now. Is there another school I can transfer to?_

 _What would the point be? You only have three months left._

 _Damn you and your logic._

 _You aren't the first person to say that to me._

 _Shocking._ Even in writing her sarcasm was palpable.

His eyes darted to the clock then went back to the paper. _I need a chemistry partner for our final lab. You did well enough on the last one I suppose. Can you measure things?_

 _What makes you think I want to be your lab partner again?_ She asked.

 _Lack of options._

She sighed. … _I can measure things._

 _See you in the lab then._ The bell rang and he stood up. Walking out of the class he saw her packing her things away, tucking their notes into the front pocket of her bag before getting up. As he headed to the west side of the building he saw her stopping at her locker, doubtless to get her lab manual. Figuring he would go ahead and get them a table, he put his things in the back if the class and looked over what the teacher had already placed at each lab station. Figuring this was going to be more complex than their last experiment he took out his own manual and flipped to what was next. As he did a slim shadow fell over his book.

Glancing up he glared in annoyance at one of his more persistent admirers. Keko had long dark hair and deep brown eyes. He was half convinced that she had hemmed her skirt even shorter than they came, but then again she was taller than most of the other girls here so maybe it was just her height. Keko had been after him since the start of the school year and was smart enough not to get upset when he continually rebuffed her the way some of her peers were. Instead she kept coming back, artfully inserting herself into his presence whenever possible. She was skilled at the subtle art of seduction already, but he wouldn't be tricked into anything no matter how she looked.

Sarah was oblivious to what was happening as she set her things down at the station next to him when she came into the class moments later. Keko, turned to her with a sharp, calculating expression. "What are you doing?"

Sarah responded with sweet innocence, but all at once he was sure she was not at all clueless as to what she walked in on. "Getting ready for class to start. What are you doing?" Keko's eyes narrowed and Sarah feigned ignorance of the situation as she sat on the empty stool next to him and pulled out her chemistry notebook. "Don't you sit over there?" She pointed rather vaguely to the other side of the room near Bakura and another boy from the junior class who must have tested up a grade in this subject.

"Sometimes." Keko agreed too nicely.

"I thought you said we needed partners for this lab?" Sarah asked him.

Dark amusement filled him. He knew she was toying with the other girl and it was nice to have Keko irritated for once. "I did."

She nodded and looked up at the other girl. "Whom are you partnering with?"

Anger flared as Keko started to puff up. Her voice was sweet as sugar however. "I was going to ask Seto."

"I have a partner." He stated blandly.

"I see." If a glare could have started a fire Sarah would surely be ablaze. "I'll talk to you later maybe?" With that she drifted off to the front of the classroom and toward a few of her friends.

"You're going to pay for that." He remarked.

Sarah flipped through her lab manual, trying to figure out where they were at, not at all interested in having chased the other girl off. "Huh?"

"Keko has been trying to hook her claws in me for the last few months. She's mean and manipulative. She'll make you pay for getting rid of her."

"What is she going to do? Ignore me? Snub me? Put a frog in my locker? I find myself less than worried. Besides, I could tell she was bothering you, so you're welcome." He shrugged, clearly feeling as if he had done enough warning her. "So what am I meant to measure?"

"Here." He grabbed her shoulders and scooted her sideways, all the way off the stool, so she was in front of all the lab equipment. She squeaked at the move but he held her as she caught her balance. "Just do what I tell you to do."

She sent him a look. "Seriously? That's not it's supposed to work. You're going to partner with me on this, not make me do the whole thing."

"I intend to do my part." He informed her. He was not one to shirk responsibility, which she should know as they had already been partners on their last few project.

Sarah shook her head. "Bossing people around is not a partnership." She informed him. "We're meant to work together on it." He opened his mouth and she put a finger up to stop him. "It'll be more fun if you work with me instead of trying to control the whole thing."

"It isn't meant to be fun. It's yet another simplistic exercise made to try to educate the masses."

"Maybe, but we could make it fun." She indicated Tea and Yugi, who were at the station in front of them. They were chatting and laughing at who knew what as they moved things about to get ready. "Other people are."

"I refuse to imitate Motou in any way."

"I'm asking you to relax, like, a smidgen." She told him. "Not imitate anyone. What's even going on with the two of you anyway?"

"That's none of your concern." How dare she pry into his personal affairs? Especially those involving Yugi.

"I suppose not." She agreed. "He was simply a convenient example as he's right in front of us."

"This is an insipid discussion. Let's get this over with."

Sarah began to pull things over so they were in the proper order. "Alright, Seto." She replied neutrally. They set the experiment up rapidly and then sat back as the components worked on reacting. It was clear Sarah quickly became bored by the silence and began to gaze almost wistfully at some of the other groups that were laughing and joking about. For the first time envy began to tug at him as he too saw that many of his classmates were enjoying themselves. It had never occurred to him that he should be jealous of that, not until she showed up and for some reason wanted to talk with him about irrelevant things. He had also never felt awkward, not in any real sense, until he was trying to figure out how to break the silence he himself had imposed. After several minutes he rolled his shoulders and ignored the feeling. "Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

Sarah pushed a glass cylinder under the bunsen burner before she replied. "I don't really know. What do you do for fun when you aren't here?"

"As I'm sure you've worked out I don't have much free time."

"I know, but you have to enjoy something." She replied, turning the knob to lower the flame as she quickly ran her finger under the lab instructions. "What do you and Mokuba do together?"

He thought he should be angry about the prying, but wasn't. "Mokuba likes to build computers."

Sarah sat back again. "Do you help him?"

"When he gets stuck on something." He agreed. "Or if he asks. I don't like to try to direct him. It makes it a less creative process." Mokuba had an interesting knack for technology, a quirk they shared. He knew he wouldn't want anyone telling him how to create anything and gave Mokuba the space he needed to experiment. However, his brother often liked him there while he worked, even if he was doing something for Kaiba Corp on his laptop while they sat in the same room together.

"I heard at the office you played Duel Monsters." She said. "How does that game work?"

His eyebrows drew together. He thought everyone on the planet knew how it worked as it was the most popular game there was. "You work for the biggest gaming companies in the world and you have no idea how the game works?" He asked in disbelief.

"Nowhere on the application for my job did it say I needed to know anything about it." She pointed out. "I just have to translate. So how does it work?"

"It's…." He paused. "It would be easier to show you then explain it." He settled on. "And I can't very well do that now."

"Okay." She said, not appearing overly disappointed he wasn't going into detail about it. "Are you good at the game?" She asked, searching for some sort of talking point. "Have you ever competed in any of the big tournaments they have on television?"

He didn't even know what to say to that. He was the second best duelist in the world. If not for Yugi's annoyingly lucky victory at Duelist Kingdom he would be the best. He had in fact beaten him before. That she didn't know that he dueled at such a high level told him she hadn't read a single article about him at all. "Yes." He replied stonily, refusing to admit his pride was stinging.

"That's neat!" She replied, her entire being radiating brightness. "Did you rank or anything?" He simply stared at her unblinkingly and her smile faltered. "Did- did I say something wrong?"

He sighed, his anger undone by her genuine interest. "No." Feeling as if talking about it would sound like bragging, or turn into something than a comfortably superficial conversation, he turned the topic around. "What do you do for fun?"

"I like music." She told him, not bothered by his questions. "And I used to be on the track team at my old school. I liked that a lot."

That explained how she escaped those thugs that had Mokuba. He still hadn't found out who had hired them, which was enraging. "What events did you compete in?"

"I'm better at long distances than sprinting so mostly I did that. I competed in some relays too." He moved the cylinder off the burner so it could cool as she spoke. "I was alright at it, but not really college competitive." She smiled in remembrance. "But I liked it anyway."

"Do you still run?"

"When I can. When I have to." She said, her eyes turning stormy. He went alert to the change, sensing much more behind that comment than she intended. When she continued, looking down at her hands, he knew he was right. "Why didn't you tell the police it was me that helped him?"

Because he hadn't wanted them involved while he had investigated, because it would only lead to trouble for her, because he was sure she was out of her mind with fear that they would discover she was a runaway. He chose not to share any of that with her. "Why did you help him?" He asked her quietly.

There was a significant pause before she answered. "I don't know, I didn't think about it when I did it." She told him. "He just looked so scared. No one should be scared like that."

He was sure she had been scared often, but didn't say it, and didn't fault her for it. Taking his pencil he scribbled down a note about the reaction of the liquid as he spoke. "Thank you." She turned her attention to his face and he stared back at her, wanting her to know he was grateful even if he hadn't acted that way in the month since it happened. "I won't forget what you did for him."

Something very strange passed over her face. "You don't owe me anything." She told him. "I really didn't know who he was when I helped him."

"I know you didn't." He agreed. "But I still won't forget."

She looked away, clearly embarrassed. "I don't think you forget many things, Seto." She replied. "I wonder if that's a blessing or a curse. Either way, I don't think I envy you that talent. What a burden it must be, to remember everything."

His stomach clenched as he once again saw her, limp and lifeless in his arms as he lifted her up to the great dragon. He blinked and she was back in front of him, sitting quietly on the stool as she fiddled with their project. It was a burden, this knowledge of his last life, this knowledge of hers. In that moment he promised himself he would never tell her about it. What he had gone through, what he had been made to believe and feel, had nearly unraveled him. He wouldn't do that to her. Wouldn't make her question who she was on such a fundamental level the way he had. He wouldn't make her hurt with the knowledge of her sacrifice, wouldn't let her feel like she was obligated to feel anything about him unless she wanted to. It wouldn't be right. It would be nothing more than manipulation on his part. And the thought of doing that, of influencing her actions, was abhorrent to him. No, he would never tell her, and he would do everything in his power to be sure that unlike him, she wouldn't get drawn into any of this. She deserved her own life, and to chose her own path. She'd fought so hard to start one here in Domino, that to take it away would be as close to a true sin as he could envision. Yes, in this life she would be only Sarah, motivated by only her own wants and needs, not by the wants or needs of anyone else. That, he thought, was what Kisara deserved. The freedom she had been denied over and over again in her last life.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Negotiating Terms

There was a nervous kind of tapping on her door. Looking up from her book, she was finishing the very last chapter of her science textbook, she stood up and looked through her peephole. She saw a mass of shaggy black hair and smiled, delighted by the unexpected guest. She had only seen Mokuba twice since their initial meeting, but both times had been pleasant encounters. The first time he had been in Kaiba's office when she walked in for a late meeting. Seto had been called down to one of his labs to help with something and Mokuba had been waiting for him to return. They had a friendly conversation about kendo, a sport he appeared to be very involved in, until Seto returned. The second time he had found her in her own office while she was working. Having spent most of the last two days in the room by herself it had been a nice break from the isolation her job at Kaiba Corp sometimes demanded of her.

Since then she wondered at how the two brothers could have such different personalities. After spending ten minutes with the younger Kaiba it was clear he was one of the most good-natured people on the face of the planet. Endearing and spirited he would have won the heart of the devil in moments. In was such a stark contrast to Seto's brooding and calculating manner than she wasn't sure what to make of it. She sensed something must have happened to Seto along the line somewhere, because Seto was often kind to her in his own silent or sarcastic way, and so very caring with his brother, a compulsion he couldn't for the life of him seem to hide. It was all so very strange and she didn't understand it at all. Running a corporation certainly demanded he act a certain way at work, but even at school he was waspish and hateful to seemingly everyone but her. Eventually she had let it go, thinking she would never really work it out, or that Seto was just vexatious by nature.

Opening her door she greeted the young teenager happily. She had never had a house guest before. "Hey, Mokuba."

"Hi." He sighed unhappily.

Her smile fell a bit and she stepped back inside, making a motion for him to enter. While her apartment was just as tiny as ever she at least had furniture now. It was still bare of decorations, her walls blank, but it certainly felt more like a home than an empty room. Mokuba took the silent invitation and walked in, standing in her small tiled entryway. She shut and locked the door before turning to him. He was the picture of frustrated misery. Mokuba had his hands in his pockets and he was staring around absently. He was in his school uniform, although his tie was missing and his shirt was untucked rather haphazardly. "What's the matter?" She asked him.

"Bad day." He told her sullenly.

"Ahh. That's very descriptive." He looked up at her light sarcasm and she sent him a wiry smile, wondering what about his day had gotten him here. While she certainly liked him a great deal, they really couldn't be called anything but acquaintances. Still, she had any number of bad days and the last thing she had wanted when she sought safety anywhere was to be harangued about it. "Are you hungry?"

He appeared relieved she wasn't asking questions and figured something upsetting had happened. "Pretty much always."

She laughed. "All right. I almost have dinner ready. We can talk and eat." She moved toward her small kitchen and dining area. "Or just eat if you don't want to talk. Do you like lasagna?"

"I've never had it." He said, appearing interested.

She let out a sound of horror. "You are deprived! Do you know that?"

That actually got a chuckle out of him. He put his bag down and slipped out of his shoes. He glanced around for slippers and she waved him in. "The slipper thing just doesn't happen in America. Are you cool with walking around in socks? If not I think I have a pair in the closet for guests."

Mokuba shrugged and stepped onto the wood floor. "That's fine with me if you don't mind."

"Not at all." She was trying to get used to the whole idea of it, but was smart enough not to rock the boat. It was an interesting cultural practice at any rate. "Actually, I find the whole thing pretty weird but when in Rome, right?"

He was befuddled by that. "What do slippers have to do with Rome?"

Her lip curled up. "Sorry, that's an expression. 'When in Rome do as the Romans do'. Also an American thing I guess."

"That makes sense when you think about it." He followed her into the kitchen, which was really just one small corner of her home. "Would you like me to do something?" He waved toward the very small table she had shoved against a wall a foot away.

"Umm." She opened a cabinet and handed him a few plates. "Could you set the table?"

"Sure." He went about putting plates and napkins down as she tried to keep herself small so they wouldn't run into one another.

When she handed him forks and he raised a quizzical eyebrow she sent him a chagrined grinned. "Before you ask, I can use chopsticks, rather badly admittedly. Lasagna is just a lot easier to eat with a fork."

"If you say so." He agreed, clearly having no idea what a lasagna was, and set the forks down.

"What do you want to drink? I have tea, water, and two kinds of soda."

"Orange?"

"No, sorry, I hate that flavor. I have grape though?" He nodded and she pulled one of those out for him and got a glass of ice water for herself. On the rare nights she got to sleep before midnight she refused to be kept awake by caffeine. She set those on the table then pulled out some hot pads. Opening her oven she saw her creation was done and made a happy sound as she pulled the dish out and set it on the table. This was the first time she had made a traditional, or at least American traditional, meal for herself since she got here. While she had really fallen in love with Japanese cuisine, with a few exceptions that were simply bizarre to her palate, she had been craving something familiar. She had even gone out and bought a pan and spatula for just this purpose this afternoon.

Mokuba looked at the dish with interest as she searched for her spatula to serve it with. Finding it she put it on top of the oven before pulling the garlic bread out too. She was glad she'd made more than she needed to begin with. When that was done she grabbed the salad that was chilling in her fridge along with the two types of salad dressing she had and set them on her small square of a countertop. She rubbed her hands together in excitement. She always got excited about food. "All right. Food time."

Mokuba sat down and she saw him smelling the dish as he watched her. "Were you expecting more people?"

She shook her head. She never expected anyone. "No, lasagna is a family dish. It's hard to make it for one person. I'll freeze what I don't eat and have it later."

"Oh." She cut the dish and carefully put a large portion on his plate. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm when he saw it was layered. Lip curling up she cut the bread quickly and plunked the plate before him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's nice having dinner with someone." She told him sincerely.

Mokuba cocked his head to the side. "Don't you eat with your family?"

She pushed the old hurt away. "My parents died about ten years ago. It's just me." She refused to count her uncle as her family despite the small, secretly grieving part of her that would remind her he had been sick in his own way, and did have episodes of being caring toward her. Those periods had gotten shorter and shorter over the years though, and mostly she just felt hate.

Mokuba was uncomfortable the way everyone was when her parent's death came up. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, but it isn't your fault." She shrugged. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I hardly remember my dad."

She paused for half a second as she dumped salad on her plate. Mokuba was already munching at his. "Your father died?"

"Forever ago." He told her. "Seto and I were adopted." She saw anger in his eyes and thought it was because he was upset his parents were also gone. She had also had fits of rage about that, knowing it was unfair. "Gozuboro died too."

That totally sucked. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. He was a rat bastard."

She blinked at the animosity, but decided not to push the subject. "I see." Mokuba stabbed at the lasagna forcefully and she recognized that kind of frustration. It might be best to change the subject. "So do you want to talk? What about the day irked you?"

The thirteen year old sighed, but did tell her. "I failed an English exam. When Seto found out he flipped."

"You got in a fight with him?" He nodded and she continued. "Does he know where you are?"

"No." He grumbled.

She was sure that was going to blow up in her face somehow. "We need to call him."

"What? No!"

"You can stay here." She stood up. "But do you want him tearing down half of Domino when he can't find you? I know he worries about you."

"Come on." He sighed. "It's not my fault he's like that."

She had to sympathize with Seto despite Mokuba's outlook. She would be worried sick if she had a sister or brother that up and vanished. Not that she had siblings, but still, she could at least try to imagine. Still, she could try to balance the two out. "Eat. I'll take care of your brother." Going to her purse she dug out her phone as she watched Mokuba prod the lasagna carefully, dissecting it before he would try it. Dialing Seto's personal phone, which she knew was strictly for emergencies, or chemistry projects, she put it to her ear. It rang once then Kaiba snapped into it. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow. Generally he wasn't overly hostile with her. At worst he tended to sound bored. "Your brother is at my apartment."

There was a slight pause then a furious shout. " _What?_ "

It took all her willpower to keep the phone at her ear rather than to hold it away. "We're having dinner. He's a little upset and I didn't want you to worry when you realized he went missing."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He told her in a clipped tone.

That was a horrible, horrible idea. "Don't be silly. He's eating and you're both angry. I'll bring him home in a couple of hours."

"No-"

She interrupted him before he could get on a role. She found once he veered full force into what he wanted it was pretty much over for everyone else. She had now been in enough business meetings with him to realize that one needed to throw their idea out there and really sell it right off before he could either turn it down or lose interest. Since she was sure he wasn't about to lose interest in this she sold it hard. "Seto, it's fine. Go do whatever it is you do and calm down. You're only going to get into a fight and then feel awful about it afterwards. You two just need some space."

"Do not tell me how to handle my brother!" He was absolutely furious and she changed tactics quickly. If reason wouldn't work perhaps sarcasm would.

"Well in that case, come on over. I'm sure he'll be tickled pink to see you." She had switched to English so Mokuba wouldn't understand and kept her voice cheerful. "After all he's a few seconds away from bursting into tears of frustration, but I'm sure you coming over and berating him to within an inch of his life is going to do a fat lot of good."

"Do not think I won't fire you!" He yelled.

She raised her eyebrow. She hadn't thought he would really go that way, having had every reason to fire her already and not doing it. However, she had been here for five months now and despite his warning that she shouldn't let anyone at school know she worked for him it had gotten out despite her best efforts. At least to one person. She had been returning from the corporate lounge in her part of the building, having gone to get some tea, and run smack in Duke Devlin in the hall. Apparently he owned his own small gaming business of his own, and by small she meant a multimillion dollar company rather than the multibillion dollar one she worked for, and was there for a meeting with one of Kaiba's sale's team to discuss some sort of financing. She wasn't sure which one of them had been more surprised when she bumped into him, but when she frantically asked him not to let the school know he had been surprisingly cool about it on the condition she tell him what it was she was doing there. Feeling that was fair she had told him and he had shrugged and sauntered off. Three days ago, when she got a letter offering her a job at his company, she worked out why. It seemed Kaiba wasn't the only one who needed a good translator. The letter was sitting on her table across the room, and gave her confidence that she could easily take care of herself with or without Kaiba.

So, sure of herself and her future no matter where she stood with Kaiba, she called his bluff. "In that case I'll go ahead and quit. I have several job offers pending actually. Duke Devlin offered me a better benefits package and a more substantial salary than I'm getting from you. I'll clear my desk out tomorrow. In the meantime, you go find a new translator. That should keep you occupied until about eight, which is probably all the time I'll need to get your brother stabilized."

He actually growled. "I do _not_ like you."

"Uh huh. I'm terribly hurt." She switched topics abruptly. "Oh, by the way we need to finish our final project in civics. When do you want to do that? I just quit my job so I should have a pretty free week ahead of me."

There was a very brief pause, as if he was physically restraining himself. "We can discuss that when you drop Mokuba off at eight." He told her tightly.

"Okay."

"Be here _at_ eight!" He insisted forcefully.

"Yes, I heard you. Saying it louder does nothing but irritate me and want to do exactly the opposite of what you want. See you later." He didn't say goodbye. He just hung up. She rolled her eyes and set the phone down.

She went back to the table and Mokuba looked at her anxiously. "Is he mad?"

"He'll get over it." She grabbed the dressing and shook it. "The lasagna won't hurt you. It's a hundred percent edible."

He ignored that. "Did I get you in trouble?"

Her lip twitched. "No."

"Are you sure? Because my big brother really isn't all that nice to most people." He gave her an odd look. "I'm actually really not sure why he's nice to you."

She waved him off, although she often wondered that herself. By most standards how he treated her would likely be termed as tolerated, but from him it really was nice. She supposed everything was about perspective. "Mokuba, I am unmoved by your brother's displays of temper. I can take care of myself." And she was fully proud she could say that and mean it. "Don't worry about it."

He was unconvinced but took a bite of his meal. His eyes lit up at the taste. "This is great!"

She smiled in delight, pleased she could share this. "It's one of my favorites. I'm glad you like it too." He smiled and dug in as if he hadn't eaten in days. She thought this was a common trait among all teenagers. She herself remembered eating anything within hands reach for about a year. While they ate she asked him about his life. She kept it all to general and neutral topics that had him babbling happily between mouthfuls. Halfway through the meal she decided this kid was the funniest thing she'd ever come across. He was smart, witty, and had an amazing ability to tell stories. She had a sneaking suspicion he was as brilliant as his brother in his own way and started to wonder why he was having so much trouble with English.

She was also pleased that he ate about half the giant dish she'd made. She had been worried about getting the leftovers in her freezer, but now she shouldn't have a problem. When he was done he let out a grateful sigh and leaned back. Her eyes twinkled at him as his dark violet eyes began to dart around her apartment. She knew he was memorizing and categorizing everything in here. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"Yes." He smiled brilliantly and she knew in a few years he'd be a heartbreaker. "Thank you, Sarah."

"You're welcome." Standing up she started to clear the table and he leapt to help her. She figured they had another ten minutes or so before they needed to leave to get him back home. When they had things in the sink she smiled at him. "Thank you for helping. Can I see your English test?"

He looked crestfallen. "Why?"

"I want to see what you're having a problem with." She was quick to reassure him. "I promise I don't think you're an idiot or something. I have issues with math myself."

"Yeah?" He asked, expecting insincerity.

"Totally. I often think it was invented by aliens simply to make my life miserable."

He laughed at her and went to retrieve his test. It was crumpled as if he lost his temper and took it out on the paper. She ignored that and flattened it so she could see it. He really hadn't done well. He hadn't even got half the points. Skimming the material she frowned slightly. "Is your teacher British or Australian?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "British. How did you know?"

"They spell things differently than Americans and Canadians." She clicked her tongue in confusion as she tried to work out what was going on. "Did anyone do well on this test?"

He shrugged. "One or two people. But not most of us."

She nodded absently. "Can I see the course material?" Reaching into his bag he pulled out a workbook and an English to Japanese dictionary. "This is it?"

"My notes too." He pulled out a green and yellow striped notebook.

She flipped that and the workbook open. Scanning what he gave her she nodded as she kept her thoughts to herself. His teacher was an idiot. "Okay." She closed them and tucked them under her arm. "Can I borrow these for the next half an hour?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm deeply suspicious that your brother didn't look at the test or what you've been studying."

His eyes narrowed. "Why does that matter?"

"No reason." She slid the dictionary back in his bag and handed it to him. "Come on. I need to take you home. Seto was pretty insistent I get you there by eight. Do you think he'll have his bodyguard shoot me if we're late?"

Mokuba tossed his bag over his shoulder as she grabbed her keys and purse. "Was I studying wrong?"

"No." She slipped her shoes on and opened the door for him. He stopped right in front of her. She saw both annoyance and suspicion in his eyes. Also a great deal of evil mischief, which put her on edge at once. This kid was way too smart for that to mean anything good.

"He isn't teaching us right is he?"

She widened her eyes innocently. "Did I say that?"

He pointed at her. "Don't. I do the puppy eyes better than you."

She burst out laughing and shoved him out. "I'm sure it gets you everything you want too."

"You have no idea." She shook her head and locked the door behind them.

Fifteen minute later she was driving up the extremely long driveway to the Kaiba mansion and parked in front of the door. Mokuba sighed dramatically as she all but gaped up at it. She had never been here before and this place was gigantic. She'd never seen a mansion before, except on television, and that really didn't do the building justice. "Seriously, did I get you in trouble?"

She answered as she craned her neck up, trying to work out if there was a fifth floor or if it was some sort of fancy balcony. "Kid, I was getting in trouble long before I met you. Trouble tends to know where I am at all times. Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry."

She made a dismissive noise as they got out of the car. "Relax. This isn't a big deal." They walked to the front door and Mokuba pushed it open moodily. She followed him inside with his schoolwork in her hands and her purse over her shoulder. She glanced around curiously. Anyone looking at the outside of the house knew it would be impressive. The inside didn't disappoint. It was a beautiful place. It was tastefully decorated and even if it was imposing she wasn't as uncomfortable as she thought she would be in such a large place, where she clearly had no business being. When she shut the door she heard footsteps and then his brother was walking down the large central staircase. Mokuba wilted a bit and she bumped him discretely to bolster his courage.

Kaiba's eyes flashed, although his face was impassive. "Mokuba, go upstairs. We'll talk about this in a moment."

"But, nii-sama-"

" _Now._ " He snapped. Mokuba scurried away and she watched him escape. She returned her attention to the tall teen and watched him calmly as he stalked up to her. "What do you think you're doing kidnapping my brother?"

She huffed,dismissing that nonsense at once. "I didn't kidnap him. He showed up at my apartment and I fed him." She brightened. "Like a stray puppy."

He didn't think that was a very good analogy. "You should have sent him home! It isn't safe for him to go gallivanting around the city!"

"Which is why I called you to tell you where he was." She reminded him reasonably.

He was beside himself with rage. "He shouldn't have been there in the first place!"

She sent him an unimpressed look. "How is it my fault you got in a fight with him and he escaped? I didn't know what was going on until he knocked on my door. And speaking of that, did you look at his test?"

"Are you trying to imply that I don't care about his academics?"

"Are you looking for a fight? Because if you are that's fine. If you aren't then stop putting words in my mouth. You clearly care a great deal about how well he does. You love your brother and want the best for him. I get it. However, his teacher needs to be fired."

"Excuse me? Mokuba goes to the best school-"

She waved her hand as she cut him off. The glare he sent her told her how rare it was for anyone to stop him mid-rant, and she had now done it twice in one evening. "Yeah, yeah. You should re-evaluate that statement." She pushed the course material at his chest. He grabbed it instinctively. "Whoever is teaching him English is either stupid, can't speak his own language, or is incapable of teaching at all. I'm amazed he got any points on that mess of an exam."

"What?" He was growling as he looked at the test she'd set on top. His eyes flashed at the low mark before moving down the paper. Then his jaw ticked. Then he glared at her. "This is _your_ fault."

She laughed, shocked. "What? How is this _my_ fault?"

He jabbed her with the corner of the paper. "I don't know, but somehow it is."

She rolled her eyes. "Look, your brother is smart. What he wrote down is proof enough of that. All he needs is a halfway competent teacher and he should be able to learn to speak English without a problem. Call the school and talk to them about it."

His glare turned calculating and she felt a shift in the air. Damn it. She'd seen him do this in meetings and get everything he wanted. "You aren't fired."

"Umm, okay." She put her hand on her hip. "Are you always this mercurial? Because if so I'm really going to go work for Devlin. He at least has a sense of humor."

He ignored this. "You're going to teach Mokuba."

"Sorry?" Shock filled her.

"You're the best translator I've ever met. Mokuba should have the best tutor."

Nope, nope, nope. "I'm not a teacher."

He held up the test. "You know why this didn't work."

That was hardly grounds for such a proposal. "Anyone that speaks English would know-"

"Be here from three thirty to four thirty during the week. We can adjust his lessons around when I need you at the office." He was looking over the test again. "But that shouldn't be an issue for long since you'll be done with school in less than two weeks. You'll have plenty of free time after that."

She wasn't getting dragged into this. "When I said he needed a tutor I did not mean me."

He was flipping through Mokuba's notes as he spoke. "What did Devlin offer you?" She was worried by this abrupt change of topic because she had no idea why it mattered. With a mental shrug she told him. Without missing a beat he threw an offer at her. "I'll triple that starting Monday."

Floored by the amount she froze in her shock. He turned around thinking they were done when she muttered faintly. That was an obscene amount of money. "You'll what?"

"I'm not paying you more than that." He told her firmly.

" _Seto!_ " She needed to drag him down to Earth. "I don't want money. I want you to understand that I'm not a tutor."

He turned around and invaded her personal space all at once. She took half a step back before she could catch herself. "You will tutor him." He ordered.

"You can't bully me." They were glaring at one another. "Maybe you can scare everyone else on this planet, but I am not intimidated by you."

Smirking, he moved forward. She fell back simply so she wouldn't be bowled over and he dropped the books and papers to the floor. Then his hands were pinning her against his door. "I know."

Welp, she was fully uncomfortable, although she didn't think he would hurt her, which she really thought she should be thinking. Really, she was all but programmed to think it, but she felt perfectly safe, if totally awkward. The heat of his body was pulsating into her and she felt her heartbeat speed up noticeably. "Then why do you keep trying?" Her exasperation was palpable.

He leaned closer and his smirked widened as he hovered in front of her. "Habit."

She was unimpressed with him arched her neck up to meet him. "I suggest you break this habit or you aren't going to like my reaction."

He considered that. "I find myself willing to believe that." He switched topics again. "If you don't want money what do you want?"

"Nothing. I'm not tutoring him. I'd accidentally mess him up or something. I have no idea how to teach."

Kaiba wasn't convinced. "You're too smart for that. I need someone I can trust. I'm not afraid to have you alone in the house with him. You have an odd protective streak in you for small helpless things."

"Your brother is hardly helpless." She pointed out.

"No, but he is small and you do want to protect him." He tilted his head. "Why is that?" She crossed her arms and leaned casually back against the door as if she always meant to end up in this position. "Not going to tell me?" She stuck her nose up in the air and he chuckled. "Fine. Keep your secrets, woman. It makes no difference to me as long as you teach him."

She narrowed her eyes. "You can't trick me either."

He grinned lazily. "Yes, I can. I can trick anyone. I always get what I want." He leaned in closer, until he was mere millimeters away from her. His handsome, navy eyes were tantalizingly close, and she wondered that the thought even came into her head. "Didn't you know?"

She smiled back and breathed against his lips. "Kaiba, if you get any closer to me you won't ever be able to reproduce."

He wasn't phased by her threat but he didn't move in to close the inch of air between them. "Be here tomorrow after school."

"And if I'm not?"

His eyes glittered. "You will be. You want him to learn." He pushed off the door and grabbed the test off the ground. Then he vanished up the stairs without so much as a goodbye. Now used to him abruptly leaving when he was done with something she reached up and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. She had a headache coming, she was sure of it. Turning around she simply let herself out as she was sure he wasn't coming back. Shaking her head as she got back into her car she wondered how exactly she was supposed to teach his brother, because as much as she hated to admit it she did want to help Mokuba. His insight about that was just so infuriating.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Analytics

He looked at his watch impatiently as the elevator took them down to their meeting with the rest of his team. They were coming up on a merger, the largest one he had dealt with in years, and Sarah's first, and he meant for them all to be ready for it. Sarah had been nothing but exemplary in her role so far, but his entire team needed to be prepped for this and he had to be sure she was on point. If she faltered in either the paperwork or the upcoming meetings it would be a huge setback for the entire corporation. This had been the real reason he had hired her no matter how useful she was in other ways. He hadn't told her that of course, because he didn't want to spook her, but it was true all the same. At this moment he was gambling a not so small fortune on her abilities.

For her part Sarah was as serenely good spirited as she ever was and he was sure she had no idea how much her role in this mattered or she would be on edge. It was just as well that way. She would do her best regardless, and he would be sure to… gently prompt her to focus, it would be all she needed to keep it perfect, not that she had made a mistake yet. With her welcoming and agreeable personality it was no wonder she and Mokuba had hit it off so well. He supposed if nothing else positive had happened as a result of that fight it was something.

He and Mokuba had always gotten on well and easily. He would be the first to admit they were very different people, no doubt due to both their inborn natures and the rather brutal nurturing he had been exposed to with Gozuburo, but that had never seemed to matter. At least it hadn't seemed to matter until Mokuba was suddenly a teenaged boy with his own thoughts and ideas about what he wanted to be doing at any given moment. While his little brother was always willing to accompany him if he asked, he had been vanishing some evenings and weekends to do things on his own, or with his friends at school. This hadn't bothered him in any real sense, as it seemed perfectly normal even if he did miss his company during the few hours he was home, until he had almost been snatched right out of a very crowded arcade in the middle of the day that was only a block away from a police station. If it hadn't been for his very fortunate run in with Sarah he had no idea if Mokuba would even be alive right now.

Since then he and Mokuba had been butting heads every week or so. The friction had been increasing incrementally until the fight about his slipping grades that had his brother leaving the house without a word to him. Where he had once had a sweet tempered, affectionate, unwaveringly devoted boy at his side he now had a willful, independent, often bored teenager on his hands. A teenager that was easily as clever as he was when he had a mind to be and was refusing to listen to any sort of reason. He certainly didn't want Mokuba to be 'a captive in his own home', a direct quote during one of their arguments, but Mokuba's life was not typical in any way. If he was going to go out either he or Roland needed to go with him and stay close enough to keep an eye on things in public. That proposal had gone over as well as discussing bath time with a cat.

Baffled by this new and sometimes hostile version of his good natured brother he had been hovering uncertainly between a strategic retreat and a full out battle of wills. He knew either way he went it was going to get nasty and he sincerely did not want to fight with his brother. However, he was in an awkward position of brother _and_ parent, and if it came down to his brother's safety he would become the disciplinarian even if it meant a real lock down. He almost flinched at the thought, but he had no idea what else to do. After Sarah left, and he was sure he had convinced her to tutor him, which may have gotten a bit out of hand, he had gone after Mokuba.

He found his brother sulking in his room with his radio blaring loud enough to make his ears bleed. Forcing his frustration over the whole situation down, because he was sure it wouldn't help, he stopped right inside the doorway and reached over to turn the radio off. As silence settled Mokuba sent him a sullen glare. He sucked a deep breath through his nose before speaking as he could feel his temper snapping. "We need to talk about this." He said at a reasonable volume. "You can't run off without telling me where you're going."

"You wouldn't listen to me about my test." Mokuba informed him. "So I figured why bother."

"I'm sure that's the reason." He said dryly. "As opposed to you simply wanting to gallivant about town with no supervision."

"I'm thirteen, Seto! I'm not a child!" Mokuba had leapt to his feet and had his fists clenched at his sides. "Stop treating me like one!"

"I'm very aware you're not a child!" He snapped back, his voice rising as he lost control of his temper. The fright he'd had finding Mokuba wasn't in the house, from Sarah of all people, had nearly given him a heart attack. "But you are bull headedly refusing to see reason! It isn't safe for you to run around the way either of us want you to! I'm not your opponent, Mokuba, stop acting like I am!"

That had Mokuba faltering slightly. "You… you don't care that I'm not at home with you?"

"No!" He yelled, ready to pull out his hair. His brother was going to make him age during his adolescence, he could see that. "But I need you to be reasonable about it! I know you understand that you aren't safe! Why are you fighting me so hard about this?"

"That's not fair!" Mokuba seethed.

"I can't make it fair!" He snarled. "What do you want me to do? I can't change who we are! I can't change that you're valuable to Kaiba Corp or important to me! The entire world knows that, Mokuba! So what's your solution?" Mokuba pressed his lips together and glared at the floor, clearly with no way around any of that. Seeing he had at least temporarily won he lowered his voice again, truly striving to be calm. "Why did you go to Sarah's?" Of all the places he could have run to he thought Sarah's was likely the safest, but that didn't change the fact that he had snuck out of the house, or been on his own the whole way there.

"I don't know." Mokuba replied as he threw himself back down at the edge of his bed, flopping over it dramatically. He stared at his brother, waiting him out. There was clearly a reason. Finally, Mokuba broke. "She's nice I guess." He told him. "And she always seems lonely so I figured she wouldn't mind me showing up. That and I knew you wouldn't flip out if you came there and she was with me."

"What?" He demanded.

"Everyone says she's your favorite at Kaiba Corp and that you never get mad at her. And Yugi said she was your friend at school."

"Why are you talking to Motou?" He growled even as he wondered what sort of gossip mill he was running at his own company. Or what about his behavior toward her was so different than anyone else that did their job correctly was.

"I play duel monsters at his shop on Thursdays with a bunch of other people. He runs table tourneys." He didn't even bother to ask how long that had been going on, and no matter how much he wanted to forbid his brother from associating with those people he knew now was not the time to broach that subject. One battle at a time. Mokuba went on. "You could have told me you made a friend, nii-san."

He ignored this. "Well, I'm glad you like her." He told him neutrally. "As she's going to be your new English tutor."

Mokuba sat back up. "What?" He asked, appalled. "I don't need a tutor!"

"Yes, you do." He told him, and that was very true. If his teacher at school couldn't make that happen he was fine with hiring in. It was wonderfully convenient that he already employed the most gifted translator he had ever heard of. "You need to be fluent in English. There's no getting around that. You're starting tomorrow after school. She'll meet with you here."

"I have to work on school after school?" Mokuba whinned.

He had very little sympathy about an extra hour of school work a day after what he'd been through. His brother was being ridiculous. "Enough, this is something that we won't be debating. It's vital you can do this." Mokuba crossed his arms and he was sure he would get no more bend from him tonight. "We can discuss the rest of this tomorrow."

"Whatever." Mokuba replied.

Pressing his lips together he stepped back out of the room. "Goodnight, Mokuba."

"Ugg, goodnight, alright?"

Fighting the urge to strangle him he had gone to bed, telling himself over and over that it was the hormones and he would level back out again. The next day Sarah had shown up as he predicted she would, and he assumed everything was going well as she told him Mokuba seemed to be doing fine and his brother hadn't run out of the house again. Still, things continued to be strained and he kept hoping this would calm down sooner rather than later.

As he considered that the elevator lurched hard and he grunted in surprise, throwing his arm out to catch himself against the wall. Next to him Sarah staggered into the door, dropping her bag to the floor. There was a loud clatter as her tablet no doubt collided with her cell phone and who knew what else she dragged along with her. The cab lurched a second time and then ground to an abrupt halt. Irritated beyond measure he hit the emergency button as Sarah righted herself quickly. Nothing happened. With a muttered curse he yanked the box under the buttons open and grabbed the phone. He barked into it as soon as it connected, demanding an explanation. He was not pleased with the reply his custodial staff gave him. They assured him they would come look at the issue immediately and get back to him soon. He felt his eyes narrowing dangerously and he snapped rapid fire orders about taking care of this immediately and having Yuka delay their meeting by thirty minutes as he assumed they would be here much longer than he had any interest in, which was about ten more seconds. When he was done he slammed the phone down and crossed his arms in annoyance.

A few moments later Sarah dared to break the seething silence. "Are we going to be stuck in here for awhile?"

"Yes."

"How long?" She asked.

"I don't know." He snapped irritably.

Sarah asked no more questions, apparently deciding not to further agitate his temper. She shifted to the back of the elevator and he figured she just wanted to sit down or lean against the wall while they waited. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone and called his secretary directly to be sure his orders were taken care of. As irritating as this was he supposed pushing a meeting back a few minutes was hardly catastrophic, especially when it was with only his people and no one from the other company. Yuka assured him she was e-mailing his entire team as they spoke and had already called the legal team's secretary to be sure she also passed the message along. Appeased by her efficiency he used the next ten minutes to go over a few other things he had been meaning to speak to her about over the course of the morning.

When he finished he hung the phone up, feeling calmer. Slipping the phone away he turned, figuring it would be a good time to get a real update on Mokuba's progress, or just talk to Sarah, he got a real shock. Sarah was trembling in the corner, her face white all the way through her normally pink lips, sickly white rather than the lovely porcelain color it normally was, and she was sweating heavily. "Sarah?" She didn't respond to him, her expression blank as she stared at nothing, her eyes dilated as her breath came out in ragged, painful sounding pants. He wasn't sure how he hadn't already noticed the noise.

"Sarah?" He said again, still getting no response. Reaching out he gripped her arm and shook her slightly. "Sarah!" She jumped badly and looked up at him, terrified. He eyed her critically, she had been fine only a few minutes ago, but something was clearly very wrong. "What's the matter with you? Are you sick?"

"No." She shied away from him, making herself even smaller as she huddled in the corner.

"You're shaking and covered in sweat." He pointed out unnecessarily.

She reached up and wiped her forehead. Her darkly colored sleeve came away moist and smeared with her pale coverup. Clearing her throat she responded in a quavering voice he thought she was trying very hard to control. "I don't like confined spaces."

He thought that was an understatement. While he had never seen anyone have a panic attack he thought she might well be on the verge of one. Her distress gnawed at him on a very primal level, upsetting him badly. "You don't like them or you can't be in them?"

Her voice was strained. "The second one." He didn't understand what would cause such a fear, but thought this wasn't the best time to ask. "How much longer will we be in here?" She whimpered.

"Not long." He lied, unconvinced that they wouldn't be here for at least the full thirty minutes he predicted if not longer. Sarah began to wring her hands and all at once the lights in the elevator began to flicker. Great, that was all they needed, to be plunged into darkness, he was sure that would help. But Sarah didn't seem to notice as she stood there and then he saw a flash behind him out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw that the buttons that were used to indicate a floor were lighting up at random and he frowned, having never seen anything like that before and wondering what kind of electrical failure was happening in this machine.

Frowning, he turned back around and was about to reassure her that he would call maintenance again, thinking that if she had a definite time line it might calm her down, when he noticed something that had the hair on the back of his neck sticking straight up. As her eyes darted around the elevator he saw an odd reflection in them. "Sarah?" He said calmly, trying to get her attention on him. She looked back up at him and took everything he had not to react as cold fear filled his belly.

Reflected in her sky blue eyes was the image of a snarling, enraged dragon. He recognized the beast on a deeply intimate level, as he had spent countless hours all but obsessing over his most treasured monster. Hell, he had built a whole theme park with his dragon as the main duel monster on display. He was sure some could argue that he had built a shrine to the blue eyes white dragon if pressed. The lights flickered again and the dragon bared it's teeth, ready to strike. Recalling clearly what this monster had been capable of in ancient Egypt, and not understanding in the slightest how any of this was possible after all the monsters had supposedly been locked in the shadow realm, he reacted at once. If his blue eyes had somehow reinhabited Sarah in this life she could easily use it to destroy this whole building, consciously or not. This ancient beast had killed hundreds of men, and he had been witness to more than one of it's slaughters in his last life.

"What was the first language you learned?" He asked abruptly, trying to get her out of her head and thinking about anything other than being stuck in a place that terrified her. It was the first thing that came into his head as he had been wondering that for some time. The blue eyes white dragon had always responded to her in their last life when she was afraid, enraged, or in mortal danger. No matter how unsettling this was he could only assume it would be the same now and even if they weren't in real danger her mind felt that she was. He needed to calm her down, now.

To her credit she tried to focus on him and he reached out quickly and caught her shoulder again, squeezing it gently to try to help her. "No one is going to hurt you while I'm here. You're safe." He told her calmly, not breaking eye contact. "Focus on me, focus on now." She licked her lips and he repeated his question. "What was the first language you learned?"

"E-English." She managed, stuttering as she tried to get her words out around the terror.

He huffed in amusement despite this very deadly situation. "After that?"

"Um, my-my mother taught me French. She was a French Canadian. I guess really I learned it at the same time as English."

"And then what?" He prompted, although she didn't really seem to be calming down at all and the dragon began to coil, the lights flickering faster.

She let out a strangled little whine in the back of her throat. "I learned Spanish and German at the same time."

"How?" He insisted.

"Both languages were electives at my school. I signed up for both so I could decide which one I wanted to learn. A bunch of people do that…" She tried to focus on the information and the image of the dragon began to shimmer away a little at a time. "But they were both so easy. I stayed in them the next semester instead of taking ceramics like I had been planning to. I was fluent in both at the end of that term."

"So you learned them both at once?" He asked, now only seeing her deep blue eyes as the last shade of the beast retreated.

"Yeah. I just kept using language programs after that." She reached behind her and clenched at the thin metal handrail around the elevator, her knuckles turning white in the fearsome grip. It seemed the action helped her ground herself. "When did you learn English?"

"I was ten." He told her, watching her closely as he slowly let go of her.

"I understand it's easier to learn before you turn twelve for most people."

"If you say so." He agreed, having heard that himself.

"Who taught you? You're very good, anyone would think it was your first language if you were in America." She asked her words slowing out of the mad rush they had been at, and it seemed to him she realized what he was doing and was trying to help him help her.

"One of my tutors."

She was confused. "Tutors? If you had tutors why did you go to high school?"

"I don't see why that matters to you." He told her, forgetting he should be calming her down rather than antagonizing her, but old wounds were hard to heal.

"All right, grumpy ass." He said nothing and she put her other hand on her face. "That was horrible to say." Her voice began to quaver and he was anything but mad. His eyes flew over her and she gripped the rail tighter as she tried and failed to control her breathing. He found his eyes darting back up to the overhead lights when she huddled up on herself. "I'm sorry." She was practically panting as she switched to English without realizing it. "I'm freaking out. I didn't mean it. You aren't an ass at all."

Crossing his arms he shifted so he wasn't directly in front of her, thinking that her feeling like she had even less space than she did wasn't helping. He made sure his shoulder was brushing hers, thinking perhaps the physical contact had helped before. "I went to high school so I could maintain custody over Mokuba."

Her eyebrows drew together as she slowly lowered her shaking hand. "I don't understand. What does high school have to do with custody?"

He sighed tiredly, glad the whole thing was behind him now. He hadn't even bothered to go to graduation a few weeks ago. He was no more proud of the diploma than he was of not finding a way to get out of having to get one. In the end school had only been a means to an end. "One of the conditions the state insisted on for me to keep him was that I prove I was responsible. Going to high school was part of that for some reason."

Past the fear in her eyes he saw she was seeing something in him he didn't want her to see. "So you were running this company and going to high school to keep Mokuba?"

"Yes." He agreed.

She searched his eyes. "Does he know that? Does he know why you were pushing so hard? Why you spent all the free time you had at school?"

"No." His eyes turned icy as he realized she could easily tell his brother that. It was the last thing he wanted, Mokuba knowing he had done even more than he thought for him. No matter what they were going through right now he knew Mokuba felt guilty about what he had been through so they could stay together. He had no interest in adding to that burden. "And you aren't to tell him that either."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I wish I had a brother like you." She told him with terrified sincerity.

He frowned slightly. "What are you talking about now?"

"I can't even imagine how safe you must make Mokuba feel. Is it scary?" She was asking him a real question. "Knowing how much he trusts you? I don't think I could handle that kind of responsibility."

He had no idea what to say to that. He stared at her blankly, as it had never really occurred to him that there was anything else to do but do everything in his power to keep his brother. It had never really occurred to him that it was something to be admired, only something that he needed to make happen so they would stay together. He saw her about to ask something else when the elevator lurched. She nearly toppled to the ground from the sudden drop and then the machine screeched to a halt. They both looked at the doors as they caught their balance and then there was a sound of metal scrapping. Ten seconds later and a maintenance worker had the doors pried open with a crowbar. They had been taken all the way down to the lobby and she nearly knocked the poor man holding the door open down in her attempt to escape.

Seeing she had forgotten her bag, again, he picked it up and followed her out much more calmly, although he was hiding a great deal of worried confusion. He spotted the very back of her exiting the building as fast as she could without all out running, through the front door and knew she was trying to get out into the open. He stopped briefly to talk to the maintenance worker, asking for a full diagnostic on not only this elevator but all of them the next day. He never wanted this to happen again. The man had bowed low, assuring him that he would take care of it at once. That done he followed after her, wondering how he kept ending up carrying her bag around with him. Stepping out into the afternoon sunlight he caught sight of her across the street by a large ornamental fountain with the Kaiba Corporation logo in the center. She had her hands on her hips and was taking deep breaths as she looked out toward the city skyline.

When he got to her he could see she was returning to a more normal frame of mind. "You leave these everywhere." He said in way of greeting as he set the bag down on the edge of the fountain.

She let out a ragged breath. "Yeah, I guess I do." He said nothing and after a few moments she spoke her face full of conflict. "You said focus on now." Her voice was quiet and hesitant and he didn't know why that was a problem for her. It had seemed to help at the time. She pushed her hair back out of her face. "You said no one would hurt me while you were here. Why would you have said that? Why would you think anyone would hurt me if you weren't with me?" He said nothing because she already knew why. Sarah was not stupid and he had slipped. At his silence she continued. "How long have you known?"

He didn't bother to lie. It would be pointless and insult her intelligence, a characteristic he admired about her. "Since you left my office the first day. You knew I could tell you were lying."

She was stoutly refusing to look at him. "Did you look up everything, Seto?"

"Yes. I needed to know I could trust-"

She didn't even let him finish that lie. "No, you wanted to know. It had nothing to do with trust at all. You don't trust anyone. You didn't trust me anymore after you found that out. It wouldn't have mattered what you found out."

He shifted slightly, refusing to admit he was uncomfortable at being caught snooping, or that for anyone else she would be right. But no matter how he tried to deny it to himself she was different. "Fine. I wanted to know."

Sarah was forcing her voice to stay low so no one nearby could hear them. "Why? Why does it matter? Why do you care? I'm a translator! That's all I am! That's all I want to be! I want to go to work and come home to my apartment! That's it! What has you so fixated on me?"

"I'm not fixated on you!" He hissed back, also not wanting to be overheard.

"Yes, you are!" She protested. Sarah was close to completely unraveling, he could see it written all over her. Tears started pooling in her eyes as she snarled at him. "I don't understand you at all! You come looking for me just so you can snip at me half the time! You ask me to come over to help Mokuba and then get angry when I'm there when you get home! Why can't you just leave me alone so I can go home and be by myself? I'm good at being by myself!"

"No one hurts you when you're by yourself." He agreed.

"No, they don't!" She realized what had happened a moment after the words left her mouth. She sent him a hateful glare as she panted in rage, the anger overruling the fear that had consumed her only a few minutes before. Honestly, he thought it was a better route for her to go. Unable to maintain eye contact she looked toward the busy street as she crossed her arms and tried to keep her tears at bay.

He moved toward her slowly, until he was as close as he could be in public without it looking compromising and she tensed all over. While he had looked into her past it hadn't been to upset her. He did regret that it looked that way. He spoke quietly, finding it easier to look at the water burbling out of the fountain than at her. "I meant what I said. I won't hurt you." He stated softly. That had her starting to tremble, because she knew he meant it, because he always meant what he said. "It was clever, getting here the way you did. Not many people could have pulled that off." There was a pause as she pulled herself together and he knew she didn't know what to say. He doubted she had expected praise over her very illegal trip here from him. "Go home, Sarah." He told her at last.

"I just need a few minutes and I'll be fine." She told him, although she was clearly struggling with all of this.

"This meeting can be moved to tomorrow. It's already three and you haven't had a day off in two weeks." He wasn't sure what to make of any of this, not on a real emotional level, and knew he was going to need some time to sort through everything that had happened over the last twenty minutes. What was worse was that she was so clearly still upset. He disliked that immensely, but even beyond that he was concerned about what he had seen when she got that way. He was concerned about the dragon he had seen resting inside her and ready to defend her. "I'll tell Mokuba you won't be over today."

"I can go to the meeting." She insisted. "I know that was crazy, but I'm fine. I can do it."

"I believe you." He told her sincerely. "But I want you to go home and relax for the rest of the day."

"Seto-"

"Everything is fine, Sarah." He assured her. "Go home now. I'll see you tomorrow."

She was frustrated with the dismissal, but didn't fight him on it. He thought she was too tired from everything to manage it. "Alright." She relented as she picked her bag up. He started to go back inside when she stopped him. "Seto?" He turned back to her. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't want to, I never did, but I needed this job."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of taking care of yourself the only way you could. You did what you had to do to survive. I understand that, probably better than most people."

Her shoulders relaxed and he could see she was relieved by the acceptance. "Thank you, for letting me stay."

"You do your job." He replied with a shrug. "I don't let you stay, you keep yourself here." That said he headed back inside, seeing her walking toward the other side of the building toward the underground garage as he went back in. When he got back to his office, in a working elevator he had Yuka move the meeting yet again and shut his office door. He needed to think.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Diversify

He was working on a section of the merger that needed to be sent out to his team when Mokuba came in from school three day after the elevator incident. The document was important for his newest branch in Europe, and Sarah had been translating the thing, and all his revisions, for the majority of the last few days. The issue wasn't that she was slow, but that she was having to translate it back and forth with him and his legal team to be sure the wording was appropriate. Apparently Japanese didn't directly translate into German, and he could tell she was struggling to make this as perfect as he wanted it. She was keeping her cool, but was clearly concerned he was becoming frustrated with her and all her revisions, which wasn't the case. He had been doing this long enough to understand why this was difficult, and had lost money on things like this when the translation fell through, which was the very reason he had decided to hire a new translator in the first place. However, she was focused, and he was pleased enough with the progress they were making, which was actually at quite a quick clip compared to previous things like this. He suspected she was also trying to somehow make up for the fact that she had lied to him all those months ago when she had no need to. He had thought he had made that fairly clear, that he had no interest in holding it over her or expecting contrition, but he could tell she was still upset that he knew.

He glanced up to greet his brother, wondering how his first few days of the new school year were going, his fingers flying over the keyboard, when he got a good look at him. He stopped working at once. Mokuba looked awful. He was pale, bedraggled, and slumping all over. His hair was even more wild than usual and his school uniform was crooked, as the buttons appeared to have been done up in the wrong order. There was nothing perky or humorous about him, which was his normal state of being. People knew when his brother walked in a room. He lifted spirits by existing. But he was obviously ill. Getting up at once he went to him. "Are you alright, Mokie?" He asked, the rarely used pet name falling from him in his concern.

The thirteen year old looked up at him blearily, all trace of his recent rebellion gone. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

Going to him he set his hand on his brother's forehead at once. He had a horrible fever. "You're burning up." He told him unhappily. "Why didn't your school call me?" Incompetent idiots that they were. Between this and the English fiasco last term he was really at the end of his patience with them. He was paying a hefty tuition to the school, which was the best in the area, and was starting to think he was simply throwing his money away on it. Perhaps he should be sure the school board changed. That would certainly send a message across about his expectations.

"I knew you were busy with the merger." Mokuba said. "I figured I would just wait."

"I'm never that busy." He told him sharply. Nothing was more important than his brother.

Mokuba flinched at the sharp reprimand. "I'm sorry, nii-san." He said with exhausted sincerity.

Guilt swamped him at once and he knew he needed to try harder to hold his tongue around his brother, especially when he was ill. "Don't be ridiculous." He said moving him to the couch. "You can't help that you're sick." Mokuba collapsed onto the furniture. "I'm sorry I snapped. This isn't your fault." His brother nodded slightly and he crouched down and ran his hand through his tousled hair. "I'm taking you home. Just let me-"

There was a quick knock on his open door and Sarah walked in for the hundredth time that day with a pile of papers in one arm and a red pen in her opposite hand. She had a purple pen behind her ear, and he had easily worked out her color coding system throughout the day. "Seto, I'm sorry, but this third page…" She trailed off when she saw what was happening. "What's wrong?" She asked at once, her whole demeanor changing.

"Mokuba is sick." He told her as he gathered up his coat. "I'm taking him home."

"Alright." She said, accepting that at once as he organized his things. She set the papers down on a table and sat down beside his brother as she spoke to him. "What's the matter?"

"I'm just tired." Mokuba repeated.

Sarah frowned at the lackluster response and did the same thing he had done. She set her hand on his forehead and cooed at him. "Aw, buddy, you're a mess." Mokuba slumped further and he was surprised when he turned from shoving his laptop in his briefcase to see him with his head on her shoulder. Sarah didn't find this at all odd and began to rub his back in easy circles, obviously soothing him. "Do you have a headache or anything?" She asked.

"My stomach hurts." He told her quietly.

She clucked at him, continuing to comfort him as he finished getting ready to go. "That's no fun." She told him, and he was having a strange reaction to the sight. It had been a long time since either of them had any sort of comforting affection from a woman. Something painful panged inside him at the loss of that, at the loss of any sort of maternal comfort during their formative years. "You'll feel better when you can go home and lay down." She reached up and stroked his wild hair back for a moment. "I'm sure our C.E.O is a lovely nurse. I mean, cranky with horrible bedside manner, but very diligent."

He rolled his eyes at that, but Mokuba smiled briefly. "He's a good nurse." He assured her.

"I figured." She agreed as she watched his brother, and warmth filled him at her real belief in that. She glanced back up at him as she went back to rubbing Mokuba's back. "If you want I'll finish what I was going to talk to you about myself. I think I finally have this legal thing down."

He raised an eyebrow. "In only a week?"

She seemed unsure. "Maybe not." She agreed. "But I'll e-mail you a full translation of what I think we need and you can decide if it looks right."

He nodded, thinking this was as good a time as any to let her go on her own. This was something they were going to have to do a great deal, and she would need to be able to do more without him. Not that he was bothered by the time this was taking as it was a learning process. At any rate he had known any translator that could actually translate was going to have been focused on that rather than legal documentation. No matter who he had hired there was going to be a learning curve, and she was rapidly flying up hers. "That's fine." He told her. "And stop fretting. You're driving me mad with it. You're doing better than you think you are."

He saw that calmed her and his suspicions that she was worried she was disappointing him were confirmed. "Okay." She agreed.

He nodded and reached down to help his brother up. "Come on, Mokuba." He said gently. "Let's get you home."

Mokuba got up, reluctant to leave Sarah, which he also noted with sharp eyes. Sarah smiled at him warmly, brushing his hair back one more time. It was clear the two had bonded over the short summer break where she had been his tutor. "Feel better."

"Thanks, Sarah." He said tiredly.

He patted Mokuba's shoulder as they walked out and saw Sarah gathering her things and heading back to her own office as they got on the elevator to go home. Sarah, he noted, was taking the stairs down the three floors to her office and he wondered how long the fear of being trapped in that elevator was going to keep that new habit up. Mokuba didn't speak and he pulled him against his side so he could use him as a prop as they stood in the elevator when he saw he was swaying slightly. He didn't like seeing his brother like this, had always been distressed by Mokuba's distress, but he also knew him getting sick was an inevitable part of life. He called for the car as they were going down and by the time they got outside it was waiting for them.

As soon as they were in the limo Mokuba lay down over one of the seats and he frowned. "If you aren't feeling better tomorrow I'll call the doctor."

"All right, nii-san." He said despondently. He continued to watch his brother all the way home as he dozed on the seat. When they got back he ushered him into his bedroom and went to get a thermometer out of his bathroom as Mokuba changed out of his school uniform. When he came back his little brother was simply laying limply over the bed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He hadn't even gotten under the blankets.

Going to him he got the thermometer in his mouth and let it work as he managed to wrestle the blanket out from under him so he could put it over him. By the time he was done, thinking Mokuba was getting rather bigger than he had any right to be getting, the small machine beeped. He took it and saw a temperature of a hundred and two, which was high, but not alarmingly so. "You have a fever." He told him. "Do you feel like you're going to throw up?"

"No." Mokuba said, half asleep. "My stomach hurts is all." Before he could say anything else Mokuba went on. "Sarah's really nice. You aren't being mean to her are you?"

"Of course not." He told him. "She's very good at her job. I don't have any reason to be mean to her."

"You know that's not what I mean, nii-san." He mumbled. "She's trying so hard to be your friend. She's nice. Real nice, not fake nice like other people try to be with you."

"I know." He agreed, unable to deny it.

"You should let her be your friend for real." Mokuba told him. "I worry about you. You work too much. You deserve to be happy."

He frowned at this odd conversation, which seemed completely unprompted. "I'm happy with you, Mokuba, you know that."

"You're allowed to have more than one person." Mokuba told him, his voice no more than a mumble now. "Promise you'll let her be your friend. You're being difficult with her, I know you are."

He shook his head, wondering at how his mind worked. Reaching down he brushed his hand over his head. "Go to sleep, Mokuba." He encouraged gently. Gentleness was something he rarely allowed himself, but it was different with his brother, and certainly different with his brother sick.

"Not until you promise." Mokuba said stubbornly.

He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Are you negotiating with me?"

"Clearly that's what it takes." His brother grumbled tiredly. "So promise."

"I promise I'll think about it." He said, allowing himself an easy out, although he knew very well Sarah was as close to a friend as he'd ever had, if she wasn't truly one.

"No." Mokuba said, trying to rouse himself. "That's a loophole."

He smiled despite himself, pulling the blanket up higher over his shoulder. "Hush now." He said firmly, brushing his hair back. "I'm not going to negotiate anything with you sick. It's not a fair fight."

"Good time for me then." His brother said as his eyes closed.

"I promise we'll talk about this tomorrow if you're still stuck on it." He told him. "Now you go to sleep." Mokuba mumbled unintelligibly and passed out. Shaking his head he patted his shoulder gently and got up, leaving his bedroom door open so he could hear if he needed anything. He stayed close by for the rest of the evening, working on his laptop in the room across the hall, which was where Mokuba tended to tinker with electronics, a passion they shared. He cleared off a table with computer components on it, looking over what he was doing briefly, which appeared to be constructing some sort of gaming console, and began to work. At about six that evening Sarah called him and he answered his personal phone, wondering when it had become normal for her to call him on it as no one else but Mokuba ever did. "Yes?"

"I just sent you the contract." She told him. "It's obviously in Japanese, but the wording matches what I did in German." She told him. "I highlighted all the areas I tweaked so you can see what I did."

"Good." He said as he opened his email and found the attachment.

"How's Mokuba?" She asked.

"He's sleeping." He told her. "I'm sure he'll be fine in-" His statement was cut off by a painful scream and he dropped the phone from his ear at once. "Mokuba?" He called as he raced out of the room. Rushing into the room he found his brother curled up on himself and dropped the phone down on the floor. His brother let out another scream that had his blood turning to ice as he flipped the light on. "What's the matter?" He asked in a panic.

Mokuba was panting harshly and was covered in a film of sweat. "It hurts!" He managed.

Falling to his knees beside him he tried to see what was wrong, pushing Mokuba's arms out of the way. The moment he touched his stomach his brother screamed again, shoving at him away hard. He let go at once, shocked, and then Mokuba lurched forward and vomited over the side of the bed. His panic turned to cold terror as his brother slumped back down and started to cry. Mokuba never cried, never, not since the funerals. Suddenly he heard another voice as he desperately tried to soothe him, his mind blank of all thought, which never happened to him. "Seto?" Sarah was all but yelling into the receiver, trying to get his attention. "What's going on? What's wrong with Mokuba?"

He picked the phone back up as he tried to understand, running his hands gently over his brother. "I don't know!"

Sarah was calm in the face of his panic. "Seto, you need to calm down and call an ambulance." She said, her voice level. "He needs to go to the hospital right now."

That made sense even through the fear. "Yes." He agreed at once, hanging up on her without further ado. He immediately called the emergency line and within minutes there was an ambulance at his front door and paramedics in Mokuba's room, pushing him back out of the way until he was standing on the sidelines, utterly useless in the face of whatever the hell was happening. He wasn't used to being useless, or not knowing what to do, and all the whimpering from his brother, and the tears were about to throw him completely over the edge of control.

An hour later and he was pacing in a small waiting room on the pediatric unit at one of the local hospitals, alone and terrified. As he tried to calm himself, which was a losing battle at this point, he was shocked when a heavily breathing and flushed Sarah appeared, nearly careening around the doorway. She was in a pair of old jeans with a hole over one knee and a green tank top that was faded with age. She had a scuffed pair of tan sneakers on and her hair was up in a messy ponytail. She looked as young as he knew she was, the way most teenagers looked when they rolled out of bed in the morning and simply grabbed the nearest things to them to wear. It was a fairly adorable look on her when he always saw her so put together at the office. "I have been to three hospitals looking for you!" She yelled at him angrily, her face flushed from running. "Why didn't you answer your phone!"

He blinked and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He saw he had twenty messages, all from her. "I turned it off when the ambulance got to the house." He told her, feeling oddly disconnected.

"Where's Mokuba?" She insisted, the fear obvious in her voice.

"In surgery." He told her.

She searched his face and when he just stood there she spoke, worry and impatience in her voice. "Why?"

"His appendix burst." He told her emotionlessly. He crumpled all at once as the precarious control he had on himself crumbled, feeling completely ineffectual as a brother, his failure to bring him to a doctor at once nearly bowling him over. There was no reason for his brother to have gone through any of this. It was all his fault. "I didn't think anything was really wrong. I thought it was just a cold."

"Oh, Seto." She said, her whole demeanor changing as she moved closer to him. "It's not your fault."

"I should have known something was wrong!" He yelled at the room in general. He was furious with himself. And that was always the worst, most reprehensible thing for him to deal with. The knowledge that he alone was to blame, and to blame for something that even the greatest simpleton could have easily prevented.

"You did everything right." She told him, reaching out and taking his hand in his. "You took him home and put him to bed the way you were supposed to."

"I should have taken him straight to the doctor!" He snarled, his voice breaking. Yanking away from her he threw himself down on a bench and hurled his phone across the room in rage. It hit the far wall and smashed apart, components going everywhere. Rather than being scared away by that she came over to him and got on the bench beside him on her knees. Turning toward him she shocked him when she hugged him. He went stiff all over for a moment before his mind simply gave out. It was one thing to manage a multibillion dollar corporation. That was nothing compared to the stress this had brought on. He slumped, leaning toward her, and she shifted so she could support the added weight, her arms tight around him.

She pressed her head against his and began to stroke his hair in much the way she had Mokuba, separating the strands and tugging at them with gentle affection. He relaxed further into her, shocking himself that he accepted her comfort. "You did everything right." She repeated, her voice low and gentle as she whispered comfortingly. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. He was perfectly fine yesterday and I suspect this morning before he went to school. Sometimes things just happen no matter how careful you are."

"He was screaming." He said, his voice breaking all over again, although she had obviously heard it as well. "And crying. He never cries anymore."

"He's going to be okay." She promised. "I know you're scared, but this isn't an uncommon thing to happen. The doctors know what to do." He let out a ragged breath and she pressed her forehead harder against his temple. "It's okay." She said a third time before shifting and cupping his face. She gently had him face her and met his eyes, her own worried, but understanding. "It's going to be okay, Seto." She told him again, really meaning it. "And it's okay that you're scared. I know how much he means to you. I know how much you love him. I'm so sorry this happened." He said nothing, finding that he was shaking slightly. He didn't know if he had been since this started and hadn't noticed, or if it had started before this. "It's all right." She was willing him to believe her. Her small hands began to caress his face, one of them leaving his cheek so she could brush his hair back out of his eyes.

Reaching up he caught her hand, the one on his cheek, and nodded, breaking eye contact. He was uncomfortable with her seeing him this visibly distraught. He couldn't find it in himself to be ashamed of the feelings of fear, worry, and love no matter how Gozaburo had tried to beat all the feeling out of him. He cared too deeply for Mokuba to be ashamed of that, but it didn't mean anyone but Mokuba should know. He didn't want her of all people to see this weakness that lived inside of him. "I'm fine."

"Liar." She said, not unkindly, as she continued to play with his hair. He didn't stop her, finding the small shots of sensation that was causing to be far too pleasant, and despite himself she was calming him. It had been so long since he had physical affection from anyone save his brother that his body wasn't sure what to do, and had settled on all but melting into it, humming pleasantly at him for allowing it. Slowly, he stilled, the shaking slowing and then stopping as they sat there, with Sarah pressed lightly against his side as she sat on her legs so they were at the same height. He sat quietly facing forward and taking deep breaths as she cared for him. His mind shut down somewhere along the line as they waited, and she let the silence sit, which made him calm further still. He didn't like talking when he was upset like this. If he were honest he probably wasn't very good at talking no matter what his mood was. He never had understood frivolous chatter, although with her at least it seemed easy most of the time. Sarah eventually left his hair alone, and he could only imagine what kind of state it was in, and took his hand instead, holding it warmly between the two of hers.

He curled his fingers around the side of her hand and she squeezed his in reply. He found himself idly wishing she would play with his hair some more, but was distracted by his worry. Looking up at the clock on the wall he saw that Mokuba had now been in surgery for over an hour. "How long is this supposed to take?" She asked when she saw him looking up at the time.

"I don't know." He said, his voice tight as his worry snaked back up.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I'm sure everything is fine." Sarah assured him at once. "I didn't know is all. I thought maybe they told you."

"Well that would have been nice." He snipped, wishing he had thought to ask.

She surprised him when she reached up quick as lightning and tickled at his neck. He let out a strangled yelp at the sensation and jerked, causing her to giggle softly. He glared over at her, his hand going up to rub the spot vigorously. Her eyes were dancing with amusement. "My goodness, who would have guessed that the great Seto Kaiba was so ticklish?"

"Don't _do_ that!" He snapped.

She wasn't even remotely bothered by him and kept smiling. "Are you ticklish in other places?"

"No." He said vehemently.

Her eyes glittered with mischief. "Is it a Kaiba Corp secret?" She teased. "Do I need higher clearance to know such powerful information?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I know what you're doing."

"What's that?" She asked playfully.

"Distracting me." He said. "I won't let you."

"Comforting, I'm comforting." She corrected him. "It's not at all the same thing."

He didn't see the difference, was relatively sure she was annoying him on purpose because she found it fun, but before he could say that the doctor walked in. "Mr. Kaiba?"

He was on his feet at once as Sarah looked over as she stayed on the bench. "Is Mokuba all right?"

"He'll be fine, Mr. Kaiba. The surgery went smoothly. There were no complications. He's being moved to recovery now." He felt a surge of relief and Sarah stood up behind him, slipping her hand back into his and squeezing it. "I'd like to keep him for a few days to monitor him, but I don't expect anything but a speedy recovery. Other than his appendix he's a very healthy boy."

"Thank you." He said as relief crashed over him.

"Of course." The doctor said, smiling in a way that set him further at ease. "I understand that this was very upsetting, but this isn't overly uncommon. His symptoms came on quickly, which is also fairly common. It was good you got him here so quickly. Other children have had many more problems when parents or guardians hesitate. Would you like to see him now? He'll be asleep, but you can sit with him."

"Yes." He said at once.

The doctor nodded and led them out. Sarah was still holding onto his hand, trailing a step behind him. After a moment he realized he was also holding onto her as well. A few minutes later and they were walking into a room on a different floor. He spotted Mokuba asleep on the bed and went to him at once, pleased to see him breathing normally, but still disturbed by all the machines in the room and the IV hooked into his arm. "How long will he be asleep?" Sarah asked the doctor quietly, not wanting to raise her voice and wake up his brother.

"A few hours." He replied. "He'll be up and about like nothing happened by this time next week. If anything you'll have to keep him from running around too much until his stitches are out." He nodded in understanding, reaching down and running his hand over his brother's cheek. "If you'll excuse me I need to check on my other patients. I'll see you again tomorrow."

"Thank you so much." Sarah said.

"You're welcome." With that he left and Sarah shut the door quietly when he was gone to give them some privacy.

Sarah came over and grabbed a chair, plunking it down behind him. "Sit." She commanded. "You're going to be here all night I'm sure, you don't need to pass out on your feet."

He sent her a warning look at the order, conveying that he was the one in charge here, and she simply put her hands on her hips and watched him expectantly, not complying at all. She never really did though, not when they weren't at work. "I'm sitting because I want to, not because you told me to." He informed her as he sat down beside his brother.

"Uh huh." She replied. "I'm going to go get you some coffee." She informed him. "Because I want to, not because I'm your secretary."

He huffed in amusement and she tickled at his neck again, which had him yelping like a startled puppy, although he should have expected it he supposed. Her laughter filled the room and glared at her. "Stop _doing_ that!" He said venomously.

"Not a chance. That noise you make is hilarious." She told him. "Have you eaten today?"

"At lunch." He told her, not trusting her one bit now.

"I'll get you some food too then." She told him. "I'll be back in a minute."

He glared after her, rolling his neck to try to get the tickling sensation to go away completely. That was something that he hadn't felt in literally years, not since his mother died. She had also delighted in tickling him and often told him how much she loved his laugh as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. He frowned in confusion as the memory surfaced. He rarely allowed himself to remember his mother, it was far too painful, but oddly this time the memory only brought him a sense of peace. Turning back to Mokuba he brushed his wild hair back, calming fully down now that he could see his brother was safe.

By the time Sarah came back he had himself fully under control again. She kicked the door shut carefully as she balanced food and drinks in her hands and her weight on one foot. She had no difficulty however, and walked over to him, handing him a tray. He stared down at it with some trepidation. "For heaven sake, Seto, it's food." She told him. "Don't be a snob about it because it's on a tray."

"I am not a snob." He protested.

"You're totally spoiled." She informed him. "At least for food. I suppose that comes with having a personal chef, so I'll simply hold onto my envy about that and tell you to eat again." Then she set a styrofoam cup on the tray, it had a lid to keep the liquid inside warm. "And you need to cut down on the coffee. You're going to get an ulcer."

"Then why did you bring it to me?" He asked with exasperation.

"So I can nag you to death obviously." She told him as she went and leaned on the window sill. She began sipping at another cup. He smelled spices wafting from it and identified that she was drinking some sort of chai tea.

He shook his head at that. It made no logical sense, but Sarah didn't always operate on that as much as he would like. He poked at the food dubiously, but started to eat. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. At least the coffee was palatable. An hour of silence later and he glanced over to see Sarah glancing out the window. She had been quiet since he started eating, and she her mind was obviously far away. He wondered why she was still standing, then realized that there was only one chair in the room and he was in it. He got up abruptly and she looked over at him, her eyes returning to the present. She watched him curiously as he stepped out of the room and when he returned with another chair she was genuinely surprised. He set it down for her and she plopped down. "Thanks."

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "What were you thinking about?"

"Huh?"

He indicated the window. "When you were looking out the window." He told her.

"Oh." She replied. "Nothing important." She shrugged.

"I seem to have some time on my hands." He replied.

"I was thinking I needed to go grocery shopping." She told him. "Shall I go through my grocery list for you?"

He rolled his eyes. "No."

She laughed softly. "You did ask."

"I regret that decision now." He replied. "Although that wasn't what you were thinking about."

She raised her eyebrow. "What? You have ESP all of a sudden?"

"I don't need ESP to know no one looks sad when they think about a grocery list." Her hand twitched. "Would you like to try again?" He asked.

Disgruntled, she shrugged. "I don't like hospitals." She relented. "That's what I was thinking about."

"Why don't you like them?" He asked, having never thought of a hospital as a place to be disliked or liked, simply something that was needed on occasion.

"Nothing good ever happens in them do they?" She said in a tone that put an end to the subject as effectively as he ever had. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the issue, although he was sure many good things had happened here. He had no reason to upset her with that logical argument though, and she had been nothing but good to him over the last few hours. She turned her attention to Mokuba. "I swear he's the cutest kid I've ever seen." He could only agree.

"It's because he's the cutest kid on the planet." He told her with no bias whatsoever. "And he knows it."

"Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of the eyes on more than one occasion." She told him. "That's just… not even fair." He grunted in amusement, clearly able to picture that very situation. "It's like one second you know the answer is no, and then the eyes happen and suddenly you can't help but think you must have misunderstood yourself. It's got to be a super power."

He actually chuckled at that, because it was completely true. "You should try to discipline him. It's nearly impossible."

"I'm sure." She said, really believing him. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

He eyed her, considering that. "I won't promise to answer it."

He could see she found that fair. "Do you two have the same mother and father?" She asked. "You have the same facial structure, but your coloring is so different."

That wasn't the question he was expecting, but he was shockingly unbothered by it. "Yes, we do." He told her. "Mokuba resembles our father and I took after our mother."

"Man, your parents were good looking people." She replied as she sipped at her tea, which had him sighing deeply at the things that came out of her mouth. It was as if when she left work her internal filter simply switched to the off position. "Are you ever super grateful you missed out on that hair?"

This time he couldn't help but snort, covering his face briefly with his hand a he fought the laughter back. He got himself back under control, although his lips were twitching like mad. "I've never given it any thought."

"I mean, it seems to defy gravity. It's remarkable." She said, studying it. "No styling product on the planet stands a chance against physics defying hair like that. It's good he just embraced it."

He really laughed this time. The sound surprised him as it filled the room. He couldn't recall the last time he had really laughed, not more than a small, cruel chuckle. Sarah simply smiled at him and then Mokuba spoke. "Nii-san?" He asked groggily. "Are you laughing?"

He was up out of his chair in a flash, hovering over his brother. "Mokuba!" He said, beside himself with relief. "How do you feel?"

Mokuba opened his eyes and grimaced. "Really weird." He replied. "And sore. What happened?" He asked, looking around in confusion. He spotted Sarah who waved at him. "Sarah?"

"Hey, Kid." She said cheerfully, no doubt trying to keep him calm.

"I'm confused." Mokuba groaned.

He ran his hand over his unruly hair. "Your appendix burst. Do you remember that?"

"I remember having nightmare and then everything hurt." He told him, then he grimaced. "Nope, I remember the ambulance too."

"You're all right now." He promised him. "You had to have surgery."

"Wow, really?" He asked.

"Really." He assured him. "So don't move around too much. You might pull your stitches."

"Okay." He said groggily.

"You're going to have a totally rad scar." Sarah told him. "You can show it off to your friends."

"Hey cool." Mokuba said as he shook his head, thinking they were both ridiculous. "How big is it?"

"No idea." She replied cheerfully as she sipped her tea.

"Oh." Mokuba sighed, then grimaced. "I don't feel very good actually."

He frowned and Sarah got up so she was next to him too. "What's the matter?" She asked him.

"My stomach is upset." He told her. Sarah cooed at him as she sat on the edge of the bed and began to stroke his hair again. Mokuba turned and set his head on her shoulder and she wrapped her arm around him, holding him carefully.

"I'll go get the doctor." He told his brother.

"It's all right, Mokuba." Sarah told him as he hurried out of the room. "We'll get it all sorted out, okay?"

"Yeah." He sighed unhappily.

He went out into the hall and spotted a nurse. Going to her at once he stopped her and indicated the room. "My brother just woke up and says he isn't feeling well."

The woman set down an assortment of items at a desk and followed him at once. When he came back in Sarah was speaking to him softly, clearly comforting him. "Look, here's the nurse."

The woman came over and checked his brother, indicating that Sarah should stay where she was as she was calming him down. Sarah relaxed and the nurse spoke to him. "Are you feeling dizzy at all?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Mokuba agreed and he stood to the side with his arms crossed, disliking that there was nothing for him to do yet again. "My stomach is upset too."

The nurse nodded and checked his pulse. When she was done she spoke. "You're having some side effects from being put to sleep for your surgery." She told him. "It won't last very long I promise. Why don't you try to go back to sleep and by tomorrow you'll feel much better, I promise."

"Okay." His brother agreed tiredly.

"Are you sure he's all right?" He demanded, really concerned.

"Yes, but I'll have the doctor come in as well." The nurse told him. "It'll just be a few minutes."

He nodded and went to the bed as she left. Sarah was soothing his brother and he sat down in the other chair and patted his leg briefly. "It's all right, Mokie."

His brother watched him, calming down now. "Don't be scared, nii-san. I'm okay."

"I know." He said, his voice gruff. Mokuba held his hand out to him and he caught it, squeezing it as Sarah patted his arm, watching them quietly. "Why don't you try to sleep?" Mokuba agreed and clearly couldn't stay awake at any rate. He was asleep again in a few minutes and Sarah carefully stood up, being sure she was staying quiet. As she got up he pulled the blanket up higher on his brother to be sure he was warm.

Sarah caught his hand and spoke quietly as she crouched down next to where he was sitting so she could whisper to him. "I'm going to text Rolland so he knows you're here and doesn't freak out in the morning when he can't find either of you at home. Do you want me to stay here with you or do you want to be by yourself? I'm never quite sure which way you're going to go with that so I just need you to tell me."

"I'm fine here." He told her, thinking she had seen far too much of him tonight. "It's late. You should go."

She nodded and patted his shoulder again. "Okay, I'll come back over tomorrow after I have the law team look at the merger again. Try to get some sleep. They'll bring you a pillow and blanket if you ask."

"You're fretting over me now." He informed her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Someone should." She told him as she stood up again. "Goodnight, Seto." He grunted in reply and she shook her head and left quietly, shutting the door behind her.

Mokuba was sitting up in bed looking much more himself the next afternoon. His eyes were bright again and most of the color had returned to his face. He was also eating, although he was complaining grumpily at the food he had been served. It seemed Sarah's observation about having a chef was more true than not. Both of them appeared to be spoiled on food. "This is gross." He said, poking unhappily at some scrambled eggs. "How do you mess up boiled fish?"

"I have no idea." He said as he scanned through the document Sarah had sent him an hour ago from the office. He figured if he were going to be sitting here all day with a likely drugged out and sleeping Mokuba he might as well be productive. Rolland had brought him his computer early this morning and he needed to be sure to thank Sarah for letting him know where they were. "At least you can tell it's fish. That's something."

Mokuba sent him a severely unimpressed look. "I guess I'll just eat the rice."

"Mokuba, if you sound any sadder about that I may start to weep." He told him dryly, amused with the drama. "There's plenty of food on that tray even without the fish."

"You have no sympathy for my plight."

"None at all." He agreed. "Now eat your rice."

Mokuba sighed dramatically before taking a large bite of the small white grains. He smiled slightly as he shut the computer, deciding it would be much better to pay attention to his brother until he fell back asleep. The nurse assured him he'd likely sleep most of the day, although he would be pretty alert when he was up. It had something to do with how the pain medication worked. Besides, as far as he could tell Sarah's translations on the first twenty pages were flawless. Mokuba swallowed. "Nii-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Why were you laughing last night?" He asked.

"No reason." He told him.

Mokuba watched him with surprisingly knowing eyes. "Sarah made you laugh didn't she?"

"Maybe." He replied neutrally.

Mokuba ate some more rice, watching him and turning something over. When he swallowed he spoke again. "So are you going to let her be your friend then?" He asked.

He sighed. "Why are you so obsessed with this?

"Because I'm worried about you." Mokuba told him, exasperation lacing his voice. "All you ever do is work. When you aren't at work you're thinking about work. You need to have some fun."

"The company-"

"The company is thriving." Mokuba said. "I've been looking at all your annual reports. You can afford to take time off, you can afford to have weekends again."

"It's not that simple."

"It really is." He sighed, pushing his tray away. "Please, nii-san." He said, all but pleading. "I'm worried about you. You're so unhappy. I know Gozaburo ruined your childhood, but you're letting him destroy the rest of your life too."

He felt his walls go up in an instant at the reminder. "He's dead." He said coldly.

"Yeah, he is." Mokuba agreed, watching him carefully, knowing how sore a subject this was. "So let him be dead. It's only hurting you now." He pressed his lips together, angry at the thought of the man, but past that what Mokuba said rang true. And despite himself he knew Sarah already was his friend. It was strange, simply because he'd never had a friend other than Mokuba. He was quiet so long that Mokuba began to look worried. "Nii-san?"

"Fine." He said abruptly.

Mokuba blinked as he gave in, as he never gave in to anything, then was simply pleased. "Good." He said, satisfied. "Now about the fish."

"Just eat the rice." He sighed with exasperation. Mokuba grumbled through the entire meal, but he noticed he ate every bite of it, even the fish. Not long after he fell back asleep and he left the hospital breifly to go home and clean up, leaving Rolland there with strict orders to keep his brother safe, although his bodyguard had never given him any reason to think that wouldn't happen. Much like both Sarah and Yuka, he had confidence in Rolland to do his job.

When he came into the hospital room a little over an hour later, clean and in fresh clothes, he found Sarah sitting on the end of the bed with her legs crossed under her. She was in another pair of jeans, these fitted and dark washed, and a comfortable looking loose blouse that set off the light pink in her cheeks. Her hair was down around her shoulders and back, the way he much preferred it had anyone the bravery to ask his opinion on the matter. She must have come over after work. Mokuba was sitting up at the head of the bed with the blanket over his legs and Rolland was sitting outside the room keeping an eye out for trouble, although he didn't really expect any. Both Mokuba and Sarah were intently playing cards.

Mokuba looked over the top of his hand at her. "You're bluffing." He told her.

"Try me, hot stuff." She threw back, the playful challenge obvious in her voice.

His brother narrowed his eyes, ignoring his entrance, and threw his cards down. "Two pair."

"Lame!" She said, throwing her own cards down in defeat.

He asked for patience when he worked out what they were playing. "Are you teaching my eleven year old brother poker?" He demanded on a sigh.

"Pfft, no." She said as she quickly gathered up the playing cards, as if it would jumble them enough that he couldn't confirm just that. "Because that would be totally irresponsible and wrong." She not so discretely kicked his brother in the shin.

"Ow!" Mokuba protested and then looked at her face, which was no doubt indicating he needed to lie, and wiped his clean. "Right, very wrong. Very wrong indeed, what with my impressionable young mind."

He stared at her hard and she smiled up at him beautifully, trying to get out of trouble. He was disturbed to find that her smile was nearly as effective at that as Mokuba's big navy puppy dog eyes, which were also wide and innocent looking. He was completely out gunned, which was both annoying and surprising. He tried to bluff his way out of it. "No." He said firmly. "I do not need him to become a petty crook cheating at cards."

"I'm sure he would never-" She started.

"He can count them." He informed her.

Her face was blank for half a moment before amused indignation filled it. "You were cheating?" She cried, outraged. "Well you can just forget the money you won off me."

"Oh thanks a lot, nii-san." He groused.

He pressed his lips together. "And you were gambling?"

"Lesson learned." She told him, his scolding meaningless. "Geez, he's worse than the yakuza when I lost to them."

" _What?_ " He yelled.

She started laughing at once. "It was a joke!"

Mokuba snickered and he rolled his eyes, less annoyed than he should of been by how easily he had just been baited. He sat down in the chair near the bed. "I'm not bailing you out of jail for illegal gambling." He informed his brother. "And I really mean that."

"You lack a sense of adventure." Mokuba replied as Sarah began to shuffle the cards with practiced ease. Then his eyes lit up and he changed the subject. "The doctor said I could come home tonight if I pass my check up at seven."

"Good." He said, satisfied. He didn't like Mokuba away from home, or from him for that matter. He was actually fairly lonely in the mansion without his constant hijinks and interruptions, he was even missing the argueing.

Sarah looked over at him. "Can you count cards too?"

"Yes." He told her, finding it an easy thing to accomplish. "And no, I won't play poker with you, and I'm not an easy mark."

"You know, I was just asking." She told him, amused. "I wasn't going to try to gamble with you, although I'm pretty good at it."

"I doubt it." He told her.

She rolled the cards in her hands expertly to prove him wrong, which was actually a fairly good trick. "I totally am."

"Where did you even learn to do that?" He sighed, not overly surprised by the information. She was certainly clever enough and could read people well enough to accomplish that.

"A friend taught me." She told him.

"Ah yes, nothing says friendship like illegal gambling." He replied sarcastically.

"I mean, really it was only illegal because I was under eighteen." She told him. "And I never got caught." He sent her a look and she pouted, putting the cards in her purse. "Fine, I won't teach him anything else fun."

"Good."

"Aww!" Mokuba sighed. "That was a great game!"

"No." He said again as he relaxed back into the chair. "Now sit still and get better so I can take you home."

"But I'm _bored_!" He sighed dramatically as he flopped back onto the tilted bed. He rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics. "I've been here for _days_ with _nothing_ to do!"

"You've been here for two days and have mostly been sleeping." He told him as Sarah snickered at the display, which only encouraged his brother, who flailed dramatically, as if he were dying. "Watch the television like a normal person."

"Ugg, no!"

Sarah laughed, completely charmed by this ridiculousness. "Hey, Mokuba?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking at her with his large eyes.

She tilted her head around so they were even. "Does this work on him a lot?"

"Pretty much always, why?" His brother replied which caused him to sigh heavily, seeing that she was about to use him to get something.

That was confirmed when she continued. "Because my computer crashed and I need him to fix it, but I don't want to look really incompetent when I do."

"Oh." Mokuba said, turning his attention to his brother. "Nii-san?"

"I heard her, Mokuba." He told him.

"But, nii-saaaan!" Mokuba said, flailing again. "You have to do this for her!"

Sarah was shaking with silent laughter as he rolled his eyes. "Stop it."

"But look how sad she is!" He said, which was ridiculous as she was laughing. "If you don't do this she might die!"

"Of what?" He asked. "Boredom? At least it would be quiet."

Mokuba clutched at his heart. "You don't mean it!" He cried, flailing again. "Who would translate all your super boring stuff for you if she was gone?" He would give him that one, but simply raised his eyebrow. "What would you do, nii-san? How would you _live_?"

"For god sake's." He said, defeated. "Just bring it to me tomorrow. I'll fix it."

Sarah leaned back on her arms, her eyes sparkling happily. "Thank you."

"If I find out you were downloading spam I'm not fixing it."

"I haven't downloaded anything!" She protested. "Except a movie about lions, which totally came off a legitimate website!"

"Why are you watching things about lions?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I like lions." He raised an eyebrow. "And also walruses, because they are plain weird creatures."

He sighed. "There's something wrong with your brain."

"Tell me about it." She agreed. "Also, did you know that lions-"

"Please stop." He said. "I couldn't care less about lions."

She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to his brother. "What should we play since poker's been banned?"

"I could teach you duel monsters." Mokuba offered.

"Yeah, alright." She agreed, crossing her legs under her again. "It seems I can't get away from that game, I might as well learn it."

"Great!" Mokuba said, clearly excited. "Seto taught me and he's the best."

"He told me he participated in some of the big tournaments." She agreed as she watched him pull his backpack over and start pulling out several piles of cards. She picked up a few and began to look through them. "Umm." She looked as if she'd gotten in way over her head. "Do all of these do different things?"

"Yeah." Mokuba agreed as he dropped his bag carelessly over the side of the bed. "It's super cool."

"How do you keep them all straight?" She asked as she looked at a trap card. "What's a secondary effect?"

"It's-"

"Start at the beginning or you're going to confuse her." He instructed as he checked his e-mail. "She's never played before."

"Yeah, good." Mokuba nodded, clearly strategizing how best to do that. "So there are three types of cards. Monsters, traps, and spell cards."

"Okay." She said, drawing out the word. "I've seen monster cards before. Those are the ones on all the posters." She said, picking up one of his brothers. "What's the difference between a trap and a spell card?"

"One you can use right away, most of the time, and the other reacts to an attack, most of the time."

"Right." She said, shaking her head. It was clear she worked out how complicated this was quickly. "And how many different cards are there?"

"I don't know, about ten thousand or so?"

" _Ten thousand?_ " Sarah yelped. "Mokuba, there's no way you can keep all of them straight."

"You can keep ten languages in your head." He told argued. "It's not any different."

"Eight." He corrected.

"Erm, ten." Sarah corrected and he glanced up from his computer with a raised eyebrow. She blushed a little. "And a quarter-ish?" He smiled slightly, charmed and amazed she had learned another two in only eight months.

"One better be Arabic." He said sternly, but she knew he was teasing. She rolled her eyes and he felt his lips twitching up, knowing very well one was. What an odd creature this woman was. Seeing her looking at a holographic card, tilting it this way and that to see it shimmer, he thought he shouldn't like how adorable she was, how sweet, as he had often found those very traits in other people to be signs of weakness. But Sarah had proved to be anything but weak, had in fact been a steady and reliable support not only in the office, but in a much more personal capacity. Perhaps it would be nice to have her as a friend. He just… wasn't sure what to do with her now that they were.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Growth

Bouncing energetically around the Kaiba's monstrously sized kitchen she twirled about as the music bopped around them. Mokuba was watching her with laughing violet eyes as she swayed her hips and clapped her hands in time with the beat. He had been out of the hospital for two days now and seemed to be doing as well as the doctor had anticipated. She was sure he had been sore for a couple of days, although he didn't say it, but today he appeared as well as he ever had been. Despite that Seto had asked her to be sure to be at the mansion with him as soon as he got back from school since he got out, which she would have done anyway to tutor him. She supposed it helped that the final version of the merger she had sent him right after Mokuba's surgery had passed all scrutiny from both Seto and his entire team of lawyers. That had made her feel pretty confident in herself, not to mention really competent, and now she was pretty much just waiting for the actual meetings to start next week so she could translate in real time. True, she had other day to day work to do, but Kaiba had all but excused her for that once school let out so she could stay with her brother. Besides, the actual translation was really her favorite part of her job, so while everyone else was amping up about the whole thing she was more relaxed now that the paperwork was done. "I think you're crazy." He informed her.

"Definitely." She agreed. "It's amazing your brother trusts me within a two mile radius of you." Then she clapped her hands over her head in time with the music and spun again as she sang the sappy pop tunes floating out of her computer. Mokuba started to laugh and she grinned. It was fun hanging out with Mokuba, and the English lessons she had initially dreaded had turned out to be really fun. Some days she actually ended up with five or six thirteen year olds as they flocked to the lower kitchen of the Kaiba mansion. Over the last few months she'd met most, if not all, of Mokuba's friends and found among other things, they all liked to eat. Since she was perfectly happy making snacks and experimenting with them giggling, playing, boasting, and gossiping around her she never complained. It was nice to have somewhere to go that wasn't her empty apartment.

The only rule was that once they entered the kitchen they had to speak in English to the best of their ability. They were pretty happy to comply, and while Mokuba had improved the most, a few of the others had gotten pretty good too. It helped that they were all so cheerful and accepting of her single rule. They were good kids and only made minimal fun of her when one of her experiments went wrong. She still didn't know if Kaiba was aware his mansion was systematically invaded by a horde of teenagers that ate all his food, but since they never broke, stole, left too big a mess, or got in fights, she saw no reason to inform him. He was always at work until at least seven and Mokuba needed company and a social life. She wasn't going to risk upsetting his friend time if Seto wasn't happy about it.

Unlike most days Mokuba was here alone and she was hardly bothered. When she asked him why he told her he had a project to work on, and make up work, and promptly pulled out several books and his own laptop. She didn't bother him other than a brief inquiry into what he was doing and to ask if music would bother him. When the response had been an all go for her tunes she'd turned them on and started making some chicken teriyaki. She was hungry and she was sure Mokuba was too. He always was. While it cooked she started dancing about pretty idiotically. She was a goof, always had been, and had no shame when they were alone as the younger Kaiba embraced her cheerful side. Since there was no point in pretending, and she had a ton of built up energy today after being trapped in her office with only papers as company, so she decided to have some fun.

"If you're not careful you're going to get hurt." He warned as he typed away.

"Bah! Who told you dancing around a kitchen full of knives and sharp corners was dangerous?" She asked teasingly.

"You."

She laughed as she twisted. "What do I know?"

She smashed into something warm and let out a squeak as she tumbled forward. A strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her upright with ease. "Apparently not enough to stay on your feet or differentiate musical tonality."

"That was just hurtful." She pouted, feeling very confident in her ability to differentiate tones, as she fought down her embarrassment of getting caught being an idiot in front of Seto. He was really the last person she wanted to look foolish in front of, and it was starting to occur to her that it wasn't just because he was her boss. It was something she knew she had no business thinking about at all, and yet occasionally, maybe much more than occasionally, she couldn't help herself. The sensible part of herself, the one that had kept her alive the last year, knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. She tried to ignore that part of herself because really, nothing was going to happen anyway, and surely she would get over this silly crush given some time. Seto was a nice guy, at least to her anyway, and it was fun to hang out. She liked having a friend again. She also liked that he seemingly accepted her past, something that she had never expected. Oh, she had been furious he had no doubt hacked into her background, but after that passed that very acceptance had lifted a horrible weight off her. The one that was constantly reminding her that eventually the other shoe would drop and he would reject her, or fire her, get her deported, or get her arrested. By some miracle that hadn't happened and she was not only still making a very comfortable living, but he was… she wasn't sure, almost proud of her resourcefulness. Still, none of that was an excuse for him to be home three hours early to catch her being ridiculous. "Why are you here making fun of me?"

He let her go, as if catching falling women was a casual sort of thing for him, and moved to the table Mokuba was sitting at. "I do live here. Unlike some people-" He set his briefcase down and glanced over at the stove. "-who think they do."

"I don't think I live here." She corrected easily. "I have a lovely apartment about ten minutes away."

Mokuba interrupted them. "Big brother, you have to speak English while you're in the kitchen."

He rolled his eyes at Mokuba, replying in Japanese simply to be contrary. "This is my kitchen. I can speak in whatever language I want."

"Nope." She replied in English. "This is the place of learning." She made a dramatic gesture, spoon still in hand, that had him staring at her with his, 'you aren't amusing me' expression.

"Sarah's right." Mokuba nodded sagely, still speaking in English. "You're the one that wanted me to speak English properly and have a thorough understanding of the context of any possible phrase or meaning. I can only do that if I practice." Reaching over she made a fist and Mokuba pounded it. It was there sign of her total approval and his awesomeness at grasping the material. Seto watched the interaction as she walked by to stir the food. "Besides, when we're done we get to eat."

"Too true." She inspected the chicken critically. "Ten more minutes. Are you hungry, Seto? I'm a semi decent sort of cook, although certainly not your chef."

To her shock he decided to adhere to her rules and switched to her first language. "Yes, I am." He got a bottle of water out of the fridge before sitting down next to his brother. "What are you working on?"

Mokuba never stopped typing as he talked. "I'm writing a lab report on sugar break down."

"Degradation." She corrected easily as she stirred.

"What does that mean?" Mokuba asked, glancing up from his work.

"Degradation is a different word for break down. You should use that when you're talking about something academic, especially science."

"Got it." He finished his answer to Seto. "The sugar degradation lab is one of our big projects this year."

"Do you need help?" She was always impressed with Kaiba's ability to make time in his packed day for his brother, although she was sure not having to go to school any more was really helping. She certainly had more free time. She often used it to sleep, possibly eat, or take long and relaxing baths.

"Not at the moment, but I'll let you know if I do." Mokuba smiled at him. "Why are you home so early?"

"There wasn't much for me to do until Monday and I was tired of my office."

Mokuba made an over dramatic show of shock. " _You?_ Tired of the office?" He looked at her as she continued to sway about to the music, trying to keep it to a minimum, but the beat had her. "This isn't my big brother!"

She laughed over her shoulder and Seto glared at them both. "Mokuba, if you try to gang up on me remember I know where you sleep."

Mokuba sent Seto a cheeky grin and she started to sing again, much more softly, as she reached over and got a large bowl to toss everything in. Kaiba looked over at her. "What are you singing? It's horrible."

"No, its fun." She responded with humor. "Fun scares you. That's why you don't like it." With that she pointed her finger at him and sang the lyrics peppily, figuring it was too late and she had already shamed herself with it, so why hold back. He stared at her unblinkingly as Mokuba sniggered like mad. Dancing to the boy she grabbed Mokuba's hand and spun him about after dragging him up out of his chair. Grinning, the younger Kaiba danced around with her for a minute before flopping back down. Her eyes twinkled in amusement as she skipped back to the stove. The chicken was done and she tossed it in with the noodles and then added a heap of steamed vegetables. Honestly, it was a blatant American hybrid of what the dish should actually be, but it was what she knew how to cook. Maybe if she asked nicely Seto's chef would teach her about traditional meal preparation in this country.

The song ended and she smiled as she tossed a serving spoon in the bowl and set it on the table. Reaching over she shut down her music program and closed the computer. Then she went to get plates and chopsticks. Mokuba sprang up to help and they moved around each other with practiced ease. The table was set in about sixty seconds. Mokuba put his computer to sleep as well and then set it on a nearby counter along with his schoolwork. When she sat down Seto was watching them with an almost mystified expression. "Is something wrong?" She asked, thinking he must not be used to his brother doing any sort of housework since he employed a full staff of people at his mansion to take care of all these things.

"Nothing." He replied as he used the serving spoon to fill Mokuba's plate and then her own before serving himself. She thanked him as he handed her the plate and ate quietly as the two of them talked, figuring she saw both of them more in a day than they saw each other and they must want that time together. Despite her quiet it didn't feel awkward or like they were excluding her, only allowing her to do what she wanted, which set her at ease in a place where she now generally already felt that way. It was odd, she thought, to be accepted in this way. It was an experience she had little practice in.

When she was finished eating she put her dish in the sink. Seto's was over hers a few moment later and then he went back to the table and picked up her computer. She sat back down as he looked it over with a critical eye. He hadn't really had a chance to fix it since she had Mokuba ask for her, and was very pleased he hadn't forgotten as she was really too shy to ask him a second time, especially without his brother to back her up. Even so she was nervous with the way he was studying it, as if it were a problem he needed to eliminate. "Please, don't destroy my one form of entertainment." She nearly begged, fearful he was simply going to chuck the thing in the nearest waste receptacle.

"If I broke it you could watch TV." Mokuba supplied.

"I don't have a TV." She told him, thinking he should have noticed that the one time he came over. Then again maybe he assumed she got one in the last several months.

Seto's eyebrow raised but he didn't comment on that as he flipped the machine over carefully and popped it open. Mokuba, on the other hand, was appalled. "You don't? Why?"

She shrugged. "I never watch it. I didn't see a point in buying something I don't use."

"Don't you watch the news, or anything?" He seemed to be trying to get some form of reassurance that she wasn't a technological neanderthal or something.

"Sure, on the internet. I watch movies too, just on my computer." She was sure Seto was listening even as he opened his briefcase and pulled out a hard drive. "But mostly I just read." The CEO pulled out a tool kit and she was distracted from Mokuba's inquires. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to transfer your files to a better computer. This one is outdated."

She let out a yelp and grabbed her baby away from him, her body nearly completely over the table for a few moments. Glaring at him she hugged it to her chest. "I like this one! We have a history together!" This hunk of junk had been with her through a lot of bad times, and had provided her with an outlet for her fear and anxiety. Not to mention the fact she had used it to help get her here, the only place she could recall being happy in. So yeah, it meant something.

He rolled his eyes and tried to take it away from her, tugging at it insistently as she gripped it. "Please don't tell me you have an emotional attachment to a piece of hardware."

She held the device firmly to her chest, both arms crossed over it to keep the best grip on it. "Yes! I do! Go away! You are scaring her!"

"It's a computer not a person. Let go."

"No!" She threw back vehemently.

He sent her an exasperated look as they played tug of war with it. "Why do you have to fight me all the time? I'm trying to help."

"I do not fight you all the time! You are trying to steal my things and eviscerate them!" She threw back dramatically.

Mokuba took Seto's side. "He really will make that thing better. It's five years old. It would be better if you got a new computer. You could get a better DVD player." She whined, thinking that wasn't much of an incentive, and Seto tugged it out of her grasp. Mokuba shrugged as he continued to eat. "It was making weird noises."

She turned accusing eyes on the teen. "You told him?" He made his eyes bigger in response to get out of trouble. For the first time she wasn't moved by them. "Betrayer! She was fine! It's not her fault she has a cold!"

Seto huffed as he began to download her files and did something that made a bunch of data appear on the screen as he quickly typed something into a window she didn't even know how he got into. "It has a fatal virus. You're lucky it hasn't already crashed." His eyes flicked over the computer code rapidly. "There's no point fixing it on a machine this old. You need a major software update and more memory."

While the files downloaded he reached into his briefcase again and pulled out a sleek silver laptop. Her eyebrow shot up and Mokuba hummed with interest as he chewed, leaning in for a better look. When he swallowed he asked his brother a question. "Is that the new model from Kaiba Corp?"

"Yes."

"I thought they weren't being released until next month."

"They aren't. This is one of the first ones done. I made sure everything was working so you don't need to worry about any problems."

She tilted her head, confused and surprised. "It's for me?"

"Yes."

Her old black beast of a computer beeped and Seto unplugged the hard drive and hooked it to the new computer. He opened the top and she saw an amazing picture of a tree appear. It wasn't the picture that impressed her. It was the quality of the image. The thing had amazing graphics. Mokuba was leaning to the side to watch as he ate, now on his third helping, and Seto began to put her information in the correct places. All her music began to download to the proper program while her documents and video clips did the same. Less than five minutes later and Seto put the hard drive away and set the brand new computer in front of her after shutting the top.

She looked down at it then back up at him. "Thank you for your help with that. You didn't need to bring me a new computer. How much should I give you? I have my checkbook-"

"Don't be ridiculous." He told her as he put his things back in his briefcase, as if handing out fancy new laptops was no different than handing someone a tissue. Mokuba made a face that told her arguing was pointless and she wasn't sure what to make of the gift. Either it was very thoughtful, or the cost was so meaningless to him it was in fact meaningless. Considering she had scrapped, scrounged, and worked at a horrible little ice cream shop for months to afford her last computer, which hadn't even been that good when she bought it new she was rather floored by the gift. She hadn't received anything other than clothes since her parents passed, with the exception of one Christmas where child protective services was investigating and her uncle got her the MP3 player Joey and Duke had destroyed to make everything look normal.

Off balance, but feeling like this really was a gift and not a handout, which was different, she sat there in confusion for several long moments. They didn't seem to notice and went back to their conversation about some sort of upcoming duel monster tournament. When she was sure they were engaged she gingerly opened the computer and began to explore it, wondering what was on it. Other than all the basic programs most computers came with it had a very nice new version of the music program she had been using, several games for her to play, a new DVD player, and an interesting looking photography program she was really going to have to explore. Seto had even set up her desktop for her and the neat row of files on one side appeared to connect her to everything she might want, with the music program at the very top. This was leaps and bounds better than her last computer, and when she got into the system information and found out how much memory space she had on it she was pretty stunned. She could probably download music until she died and still have space.

After about fifteen minutes she shut the computer again, thinking it would be rude to stay on any longer, and got up to go clean a bit better. She really did like to leave everything in order when she left. As she wiped the counter down Mokuba left to go get his dueling deck as Seto had agreed to play with him once his work was done. She could tell it was something they both enjoyed by how easily Seto accepted the offer. For her part she figured it was time to go and she set the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped her hands with a dry towel. Finished, she was turning to go and saw Seto lounging in the doorway, blocking her way out, and clearly waiting for her to complete her self imposed task. His eyes ran over her before he nodded in approval. "I'm impressed with Mokuba's progress. He's nearly fluent and his vocabulary has expanded dramatically since you started with him."

She shrugged, thinking Mokuba had made her job easy for her. "He's smart. He picked it up fast."

His eyes hooded. "You motivated him very well."

She didn't really think she had done much when it came down to it. Actually she was fairly sure he worked so hard to impress Seto. It seemed to be a very strong motivator for him even if she had noticed some sort of tension in the air between them. That seemed to wax and wane between days, and she figured it was a normal sort of family dynamic. Certainly Seto was in no way abusive to his brother. He wasn't that sort of man despite his irritable nature, and she would have easily picked up on it. "As long as he learned." Tossing the towel on the counter she moved toward the door after gathering up both of the laptops. Kaiba didn't move out of her way and she put her free hand on her hip. "I take it by the subtle gesture that we aren't done talking."

His lip curled slightly. "Is he better than the others?"

"What others?" She asked innocently.

"I am aware he has friends." He told her calmly. "At least fifteen of them rotate through here on a regular basis."

Figuring the cat was out of the bag, Mokuba had probably told him as soon as she allowed the first batch in, she answered. "Yes, he's the best, although Haru isn't far behind him. I'm not counting Rebecca since she was born in the states."

"You didn't have to teach them all." He pointed out unnecessarily.

"It's easier when you're in a group. They all wanted to learn. They motivated each other." She honestly wasn't bothered she had actually taught a small class rather than one student. "The boys viewed it as a competition sometimes. That helped too."

"Using psychology on fourteen year olds. Aren't you ashamed?"

She smiled. "They were thirteen when I started, and not at all."

He hummed before changing the subject. "I have…" He appeared to struggle for a moment. "A personal favor to ask."

"Okay." She replied, wondering what on earth Kaiba might need from her.

"After the merger I need to go out of town for a few days, three at the most. My secondary manufacturing facility in Northern Japan is having some managerial issues. I need to take care of it personally. If I don't it would look bad. I don't want to pull Mokuba out of school to take him with me, especially after he's already missed a week this term, and I don't want to leave him alone, that isn't safe."

She tilted her head a little. "Wouldn't Roland stay with him?"

"Roland will also be here, but he's an employee and a bodyguard, not a caregiver. If you don't want to I can make other arrangements."

"Of course I'll stay with him." She told him. She had no issue at all spending a few days with Mokuba. "I like hanging out with Mokuba."

"Yes, he seems to get on well with you." He said in a way that told her he had a lot of thoughts about something she didn't think was overly complicated. She liked Mokuba as a person and he liked her back as a person. To her that simply made sense, but maybe to Seto it didn't. It didn't take long to notice he had some difficulty getting along with most people. She knew very well she was an exception rather than a rule. "I'll have a room ready for you while you're here."

"You have spare rooms here?" She asked, feigning surprise, which had him rolling his eyes. Grinning, she adjusted the computers under her arm. "Just let me know when to be here."

"Fine." He agreed. "He's generally not hard to deal with. He'll listen to you."

"I was pretty sure it wouldn't be a problem." She told him honestly, after all he always listened to her during tutoring. "You don't need to worry. I'll look out for him." He said nothing, only shifted out of the way, his face expressionless. Smiling at him she adjusted the laptops again. "Thank you for the computer. That really helped me out a lot."

"It's only a computer."

She eyed him up and down. "Right." It wasn't worth the debate. "Have fun playing duel monsters. I'll see you in the morning." He nodded and she moved passed him. "This is the part where you say goodnight, Seto." She called over her shoulder.

"I'll do no such thing." He replied, moving back toward the table.

She knew he was just refusing to annoy her, so she annoyed him back. "Goodnight, Seto!" She chirped in her most cheerful voice. "Have a lovely evening!"

"Get out." He ordered, teasing her right back.

Laughing, she walked up out of the lower kitchen and wished Mokuba goodbye as she left the mansion. He waved her off, in good spirits, and she went home feeling calm and content. Fifteen minutes later she was unlocking her door clumsily, as she was balancing her keys, bag, and two laptops, and nearly fell inside. "For heaven sakes." She muttered as she tried to find the small table in the dark. If she could just set one thing down she could manage. However, before she could find it, or even move a foot inside, someone grabbed her roughly from behind. She didn't have time to scream before a rag was pressed hard over her face hard. Her possessions fell out of her hands, smashing into the floor, as she reached up to struggle, but no sooner did she smell something sickly sweet then everything went dark. She didn't even have a chance to feel more than startled before her entire world slipped away.

Author's Note: Hey! Sorry this one took a few extra days. My work got busy again and I have less time to write. But do not fear! I will finish this one. I actually already have the end mostly written :) It just might take me a few extra days to get chapters up.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Brainsworking

Pain tore through her head and she felt distinctly odd. She felt too heavy, as if her body was being held down by heavy weights, although she felt nothing on her. Her senses returned at a sluggish pace and she smelled stale air and felt hot, as if she were in a warming oven. Slowly, she got her eyes to work and forced them open, squinting into darkness. She heard deep breathing next to her and forced her neck to move. She spotted a body beside her, and after a few confusing moments she realized it was Tea. That was baffling, as she hadn't seen the girl in months, not since school ended. Pushing her arm under herself she tried to see through the gloom and spotted several other people including Bakura and a young redhead she'd never seen before. They were in a small room made of ancient looking stone blocks. There was sand on the floor, and sticking to her skin where she had been laying on it. She felt gritty as sweat made her clothes cling to her, which made little sense as it had been a pleasant fall day in Domino. As her cloudy mind tried to work out what was going on she heard a door opening somewhere and voices, very angry voices.

She recognized two of them at once. One was Kaiba, who was snarling like an enraged hyena. The other was Joey, who was simply shouting what she thought were obscenities, but the words were muffled so she couldn't be sure. Still, it seemed like something he would do if he was angry. "Get the rest of them in the cells." She heard much more distinctly. "Before they wake up like the others."

Hearing another door open, this one closer, she laid back down at once and went totally limp. She had no idea what was going on, but if some nameless someone thought she was unconscious and Seto was yelling like that something was certainly going on. The fact that she had been knocked out and kidnapped in her own apartment really reinforced that. She needed to figure out what was going on before she did something stupid, like getting caught being awake. No sooner did she lay back down than a line of light filled the shadowy room and a footsteps echoed around. Someone stopped next to Tea and picked her up and she felt her adrenaline start to climb, pushing the fogginess away. Cracking her eye open she saw a large man throwing the other woman over his shoulder and walking out. Before she could think of what she should do another one walked in behind him and came right over to her. She closed her eye at once and made herself stay pliant as she was hoisted into the air.

She was tossed uncaringly over his shoulder and had to force herself to stay quiet as her stomach was compressed rather painfully. Once she was secured, with her top half hanging over his back, she opened her eyes again and spotted a key ring peaking out from under his jacket. Reaching down she quickly and slyly lifted the keys, forcing her fingers to work, and slipped them into the palm of her hand as she hoped they were going to be good for something. A moment later, with the voices getting ever louder, they had walked into another hallway, this one substantially brighter but still oddly dim, and Kaiba abruptly stopped yelling. They went a few more feet and then she was being put down. As she went she slipped her hand stealthily into the man's front jacket pocket, knowing where they were sewn in, and her fingers just managed to wrap around something thin and flat before she was on the ground.

He dropped her the last few inches onto hard cement and she simply let the impact happen, hoping he didn't notice she was palming things in her hands and trying to keep them flat down while still looking like she was unconscious. "Hey! Careful!" Mokuba shouted angrily. "You're going to hurt her!"

"Shove it, kid." The man told him, clearly unbothered by him or her possible injury. "You're all going to be hurting soon."

Joey began to curse even more viciously and she realized that the first man that had brought Tea was back with the petite redhead. " _My sister?_ You clowns kidnapped my _sister_? You better hope I don't get out of here!"

Listening over the throbbing in her head she remained motionless in an attempt to be ignored while she worked out what was happening. "Ahh, the boys are upset." The new man mocked. "What a shame."

"Get the hell away from them, you bastards!" Tristan was snarling, and she wondered who else was here, and why. Another curse came from Joey and she heard the sound of metal clicking as a door was shut. Cracking her eye open a slit she saw the three of them, and Mia, who was off in a corner also unconscious, were all crammed into a small jail cell.

The man that had moved her came back with Bakura, who he threw uncaringly in another cell where Duke was knocked out cold and Mokuba was looking for a way to dodge past him, but wasn't finding one and was shoved back, which had Seto snapping a warning to the man. She closed her eye again when he began to turn back around, not wanting to draw attention to herself. "That's the last one."

"The boss will be happy. We got all of the ones on his list."

She had no idea what that meant or why she would be on any sort of list. Especially one that also had Joey, apparently his sister, Tristan, Tea, and Mia on it. This was all very bizarre. She had no clue what was happening but she was sure they were in a really bad situation. That was reinforced when Kaiba abruptly broke his silence. "Leave the girls alone." He snapped forcefully. She heard shifting near her and could only assume one of the men had been lingering too long in front of their cell. Her stomach filled with cold dread and it took all her self control not to move, change her breathing, or open her eyes.

"This one thinks he's still in charge." One of them commented, goading him, and his voice was vaguely familiar, tugging at something in her memory. "Money won't do much for you here will it?"

Kaiba said nothing and she could only imagine the glare he was giving the other man. The strained silence didn't last long as Joey broke in. "Looks to me like the only thing making you big and bad are these bars between us. Why don't you open up and we'll see if Kaiba needs money to kick your butt into next week."

A new voice sounded, one she didn't recognize at all. "Stop talking to them." The order was firm, with no room to argue. "They aren't to be bothered by you. They're here to be judged."

"Judged?" It appeared Yugi was also here, and at this point she wasn't overly surprised.

"Where are we?" Tristan yelled at them right before the door they'd come through closed. She heard a series of odd beeps and then everyone that was awake began to argue.

"What the hell did you drag us into this time?" Seto demanded.

"I have no idea what's happening, Kaiba." Yugi told him, his own voice strained with impatience.

"You never do." Seto replied sarcastically.

"I refuse to get into an argument with you." Yugi told him, sounding tired, as if this continual cycle of aggression with Kaiba was simply too much at the moment.

"We both know this has something to do with you!" Seto snarled, and she again wondered why these two didn't get along. Clearly something was up, but she figured it wasn't the best time to get to the bottom of it. "It always does! I haven't dueled in over a year and yet here we all are!"

"Back off, rich boy!" Joey snarled, and she wondered what duel monsters had to do with anything. "Yug had nothing to do with this!"

She opened her eyes to be sure the kidnappers had gone, and when she saw that the only ones here were all of them in cells she slowly pushed herself up. Her head spun sickly, her stomach rolling, but she managed to keep herself from throwing up. She saw that Joey, Tristen, Yugi, and Seto had all been placed in the cell directly across from the one she was in. In the cell next to them Duke and Bakura were both starting to stir, no doubt due to all the yelling, and Mokuba was standing against the bars, close to Seto, but still separated from him. All of them looked the worse for wear, their clothes askew, pale, and Tristan and Seto both had bruises. Seto's cheek was dark purple where Tristan had a black eye. She assumed that they hadn't been snatched as quickly or easily as she had.

"God, what the hell?" Duke groaned, obviously thinking he was in his own home. "I only had like, four drinks."

This comment was ignored completely as the argument began to escalate. "For once don't act as stupid as you are!" Seto ordered Joey. "He's constantly the cause of every scrap of nonsense Mokuba and I get dragged into!"

"Oh, right." Joey threw back. "You certainly never contribute in any way to any of this!"

Getting to her feet she swayed, having difficulty getting her limbs to fully obey her, but she saw little choice in the matter. Opening her hands she saw she had managed to steal not only keys, but some sort of generic looking security card. It looked like the one she had to get into Kaiba Corp, but it was just plain white where her's had a logo and her name on it. Getting to the door of the cell she reached through the bars and began trying the keys, as there were half a dozen of them, hoping one would unlock it. As she worked to free herself Tea groaned softly and Mia jerked her head up, coming awake all at once.

"Back off, Kaiba!" Tristan snapped, shoving him backward.

"Don't touch me!"

"Calm down, nii-san." Mokuba tried to soothe, grabbing his trenchcoat through the bars and holding him tightly as it was clear he was more than ready to start swinging. She figured it was really Mokuba's steady presence rather than his physical prowess that would stop a fight. It seemed the only one Seto ever listened to was his brother.

However, she figured them getting into a brawl wouldn't be overly helpful and tried to help prevent it herself. "Will someone tell me what's happening?" She interjected loudly, trying to cut over the yelling. "Where are we?"

Five heads swiveled toward her. "Sarah!" Mokuba said with real relief. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, other than feeling sick." She said as the key she was trying clicked in a very satisfying way. The door came open and she shoved it so she could get out. Stepping out of the cell she walked over to the one Seto was in, figuring the guys could at least distract the kidnappers if they came back in, and started trying keys as the four young men crowded to the front.

"How did you get keys?" Tristan asked, clearly impressed as Seto looked her over critically .

"Oh, you know, I asked all nicely." She replied sarcastically.

"Who cares how she got them." Joey said. "As long as she gets us out."

She managed that on the third key she tried and handed Seto the security card as she went to the last cell and began to try the remaining keys. Joey and Yugi rushed into the cell she had been in to check on the other women. Within moments the redhead was crying and clutching at Joey and she did her best to ignore the girl. She knew she was frightened, but crying wasn't about to help. Tea looked completely disoriented, and she sympathized with that, and Mia was simply furious. She began ranting almost at once, enraged that anyone had the gall to kidnap her. Listening to the blonde she also wondered at it, thinking she wouldn't want to mess with this woman given the option.

Getting the last door open she let Mokuba out as Duke shook Bakura fully awake. "Bloody hell. What's happening?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Duke replied, not looking nearly as bothered by all this as the others. "Getting into mischief and finding mayhem." His green eyes turned to her and he gave her the most flirtatious smile she'd ever encountered. "Thanks, gorgeous. I've missed seeing you around."

She sent him a surprised look, not used to anyone flirting with her, but was distracted by Mokuba. "How did you get the keys?" He asked curiously.

"I stole them." She told him. "They thought I was still knocked out and weren't paying attention."

Seto was looking at the door they came through as he tapped the card against his leg, holding it between his fingers. There was only one way out, the way they came in. After the last cell all there was to see was a crumbling stone wall, which was identical to all the other walls she had seen. Kaiba made up his mind quickly and walked passed everyone else as they tried to orient themselves. She followed him with Mokuba close behind after sending Duke one last confused glance. Kaiba was clearly as interested in calming Serenity down as he was in going on a date with Joey and ignored the sobbing girl. Getting to the door he began to study a flat white panel, where the key was clearly supposed to go. She saw him flip it to see the small metallic part that you were supposed to run through the electric panel. Mokuba came up behind them and asked his brother a question. "Can you get it open with that?"

"Yes, but if I do I'm fairly certain the security system will alert someone as soon as we use it. If I can get into the machine I can stop that from happening. I need a screwdriver to open the panel though."

She hummed, knowing she could help with that, and reached up to her hair. Pulling out her bobby pins a few strands of her hair fell about her face and she went to opening it. "I can do that I think." A minute later and the panel was open.

Seto pushed her aside with an astonishing amount of gentleness for him. She let him have space as Mokuba watched critically. It took Kaiba twelve seconds to get them out. She knew this because she was counting. There was a beep and a series of green lights lit up after he moved a few wires about, then there was a click. Reaching over she opened the door a crack and looked out. She didn't see anyone. "I don't see anyone but they have to be somewhere."

She could see he agreed. He handed her the card back and put a hand on Mokuba's shoulder before moving his brother carefully behind her. She understood at once he was asking her to protect him and nodded to him, but not liking at all what was about to happen. He was going to go check to see where the men were. He met her eyes, his gaze unwavering, before he opened the door and stepped out, clearly ready to meet their kidnappers. Mokuba let out a frustrated breath and shifted his weight back and forth unhappily behind her. The others were starting to gather, noticing she and Mokuba were watching the door anxiously and Kaiba was gone, and slowly the chatter died down.

After what felt like a small eternity Seto reappeared, opening the door fully. Relief washed over her when he came back in the same condition he left in. "No one else is here. At least not on this floor."

She shifted out of the room as Seto put a firm hand on Mokuba and got them out of the way as the rest of the teens piled out of the celled hallway. Joey was complaining loudly and the rest of the boys were grumbling. Tea looked terrified but determined not to say anything as Mia seethed over what happened. Serenity was now clinging to Tristan as her brother ranted. Her eyes darted around and she snapped at Joey, knowing his hotheadedness and impulsivity could easily get them back in the cells. "Joey, would you shut up? You're going to get us caught if they hear you."

He looked ready to yell at her then his eyes zeroed in on his sister. She realized he must be pretty close to her when he stopped yelling and he clenched his jaw shut. "Fine."

She nodded and noticed that Seto, Duke, and Yugi were all moving toward a staircase to their left. When they got to the base of it and Seto started up Duke spoke. "I'll go with you to check."

Seto ignored him as he made a sharp motion toward her to stay put when she took a step to follow. She stopped, frustrated, but also knowing she didn't know how to fight at all. The logical part of her told her that she would only get in the way if they ran into those men, which they inevitably would, and Seto meant to prevent that. Duke looked irritated but not surprised by Kaiba's behavior while Yugi was simply frowning up to the next floor. For his part he didn't bother to ask Kaiba's permission, only followed after both of the taller men as they disappeared.

They were all gone for a long time. For the first ten minutes they all stood in the dimly lit hallway in various states of anxiousness. Mokuba had his arms crossed, looking angry that he had been left behind and also extremely worried. She could fully sympathize with all of that and leaned against the wall beside him, rubbing her hand over her arm as she glanced between him and the staircase. Mia began tapping her foot and reached over to pat the redhead. "It's alright, sweetie." She assured her. "I won't let anything happen."

The younger girl nodded, believing her, and she figured the two of them must know one another fairly well since Mia was dating Joey. "Don't sweat it, Serenity." Joey told her. "We'll be out of here in no time, you'll see."

"We might want to work out where we are first." Bakura suggested calmly. "Does anyone remember anything about getting here?"

"I was auditioning in New York." Tea told them quietly, rubbing at her head. "Juliart has some open spots next semester."

She frowned at that. New York was much more than a stone's throw away from Domino. Bakura wasn't settled by that news either. "I was in London visiting my uncle."

Mia pressed her lips together. "I just finished with a tournament in Shanghai."

"Me, Yug, and Tristan were headed home from Seoul. We were at a conference picking up some rare merchandise for the shop."

"I was in my apartment in Domino." She supplied.

"Seto and I were at the mansion." Mokuba said, anger in his voice. "They jumped us in the kitchen."

Serenity leaned into Tristan, who had his arm over her. "I was on a school trip to Tokyo. The last thing I remember I was in a museum looking at a painting." She took a breath and went on. "And they must have gotten Duke in San Francisco. He was meeting some new client."

Tristan sent her a sad look. "Aw, why do you know that?"

She and Bakura shared a look and he said exactly what she was thinking. "They got us from all over the world. Why go to all the trouble?"

As she was trying to work that out there was a s sudden ruckus above them. She heard shouting and then Tristan and Joey rushed up the stairs. She caught Mokuba with both arms before he could follow, because he had been ready to run too and held to him tightly. "Seto would kill me!" She told him hurriedly, because she was sure if he wanted to he could escape her. "Please, just wait a second and we'll both go."

Mokuba let out a growl of utter frustration but stopped pulling at her. Thankfully, she didn't have to live up to her promise because Duke appeared within a few moments. He hooked his thumb up. "It's clear, no thanks to tweedledum and tweedledumer."

Mokuba raced ahead of her and she followed quickly after with the rest of the group. The old set of stairs led up to an equally old room that was sparsely furnished. There was a rickety looking table that had a few cups and a dirty plate on it and three chairs scattered about. In one corner was the only modern thing she could see, a refrigerator that looked like it was hooked up to a small generator. Moving through that room they came into a much larger one where everyone appeared to be. Well, she supposed at one point it had been a room, but now one wall and part of the ceiling was gone and the large opening looked out onto a vast, dark sea of sand dunes. She blinked, having not expected that in the slightest, and set her surprise aside to assess what else was happening as Mia came out behind her and saw what she had. "Oh, what in god's name is this?"

On the floor were the four men she had seen, all knocked out cold. Yugi and Tristan were tying two up as Joey dragged one closer so he too could be secured. "How convenient there are cells downstairs." Duke remarked as he sauntered back in behind all of them. "I really think those suits will look great behind the vertical bars."

Spotting something odd on the one Joey just flipped over she took a step forward and frowned. The man had a nasty, jagged, scar across his eye, which was clearly no longer in the socket. Her eyes flew over his face and she knew this was the same man that had been after Mokuba, the same one she had hit with a bottle. As she staring at him Seto walked out of another room at the far side of the large open one they were in and saw her all but gaping at him. He came over to her and sent the man a single glance. "What's is it?"

"He was one of the one's chasing Mokuba that day. When we ended up at the game shop." She looked over at the other three men and pointed to one. "I think he might have been there too, but the one with the scar definitely was."

Seto said nothing to that, but did comment on something else. "They have a primitive security system, but nothing that would let us contact anyone. No radios and no phones. There's no way for me to contact anyone."

Yugi had gotten up and was gazing out at the desert, clearly listening. "How did they get us here? Do you see any tire tracks?"

For once Seto didn't seem completely appalled by Yugi speaking. Instead he appeared to be thinking the same thing. "I think it was a helicopter." Joey said. "I thought I was dreaming, but I was the first one awake. Maybe that was real."

"That would make sense." Tea said. "But it's not here now. What should we do?"

"We can't stay here." Bakura said. "Even if we have them in cells someone had to have dropped us all off. They'll be back eventually."

She sent a glance at the desert. "So we should what? Go out there?" She pointed toward the desolate expanse. "It's the middle of the night and already hot, what do you think it's going to be like once the sun comes up? We'll be dead by this time tomorrow. We have no supplies, no gear, and no sunscreen. Not to mention we have no idea where we are or what direction to walk in."

"There is some food and quite a bit of water in the other room." Duke said, walking back out of it. "It would probably last us a few days."

This was a horrible plan and it appeared that the group was suddenly split in half. "I'm with Sarah." Mia said. "We'd be better off waiting here."

Bakura shook his head. "Anyone that comes could easily kill us."

"And are we going to talk about what judging means?" Tristan asked. "Because that doesn't sound good."

"If they have a helicopter, and they likely do, they'd be able to spot us from the air even if we do leave." Yugi pointed out.

Seto looked between her and Mokuba and she saw him calculating their odds of survival. He spoke directly to her, ignoring the discussion around them. "Our odds of living through this are slim no matter what we do. I'd rather not stay here and wait to die."

She realized this was his way of not only recognizing her very real concern, but also telling her that he would stay here with her if that was her choice, even if that wasn't what he would decide to do. She stared up at him, feeling helpless as there was no good option. There was no way to make an informed decision, because there was nothing to base it off of except their individual instincts and the barest amount of details. Seeing that she and Seto were feeling opposite things, and neither of them had a real logical stance to get behind, which she felt would have swayed either party if they did, she turned her attention to Mokuba. "What do you want to do, Mokuba?"

Seto nodded in approval of her resolution to their debate. It was obvious he too recognized the problem and agreed that Mokuba could decide. His brother reached up and scratched the back of his head as he tried to pick. "I guess we should go." He said after a moment. "I hate just sitting around."

Seto reacted as soon as his brother spoke. "We need to gather up anything that we can use. We need to leave soon and get as far from here as we can while the sun is down. We'll need to rest during the day to avoid dehydration."

"Not all of us think walking into the desert is a great idea, Kaiba." Joey pointed out.

"Have I ever cared what you do, mutt?" Seto asked. "Me and mine are leaving. If you want to tag along I suggest you get yourself ready." With that he went to the nearest of their kidnappers and hauled him up with a muffled grunt, heading back toward the stairs to throw him in a cell. She went into the kitchen and started gathering up supplies as Mokuba went into the security room to see what he could salvage. In the large room she heard a heated debate start and wondered what the others were going to decide. Either way she didn't see this ending well and still wasn't sure what to make of any of this. She wondered if she would ever find out why they were all brought here, or if she would be dead before she did. Either way, she supposed at least she would be with Seto and Mokuba, and that was something. Then again, if they died with her she would be even more upset. After all, they were all she had.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Critical Success Factor

As they hiked across the desert he was silent, saving his energy for walking. He had put Mokuba between himself and Sarah, and kept glancing over both of them as he stayed at the back so he was sure he wouldn't lose either of them in this endless sea of sand. One wrong turn, one brief moment of inattention, and he was sure they could easily get lost in the towering dunes. He was nearly constantly checking them, looking for signs of weakness or strain, although neither were hard to see after their third day of this endless trek. They were all starting to tire, and Mokuba was showing it worse than Sarah, although she too was beginning to lag. He was starting to fear he'd made the wrong choice, but it was too late to turn back and there was no guarantee of safety where they had been. The weapons he'd found on the men he and Duke had knocked out gave him little hope that whoever came after them wouldn't be even more well armed. There would be little he could do to protect them against that.

But despite their aimless wandering at least Mokuba was unharmed, other than being shaken up by the kidnapping, and that was something no matter how enraged he was at getting jumped in his own highly secure home. If they lived through this he was going to work out exactly how they had managed that. It was no small feat to get through the array of safety nets he had in place, but apparently he and his security team had missed something. That or someone on that very team had let them in on purpose. Not that any amount of security would have helped Sarah once she left the mansion, but Mokuba at least would have been protected and he wouldn't have gotten knocked out.

Of course he had been infuriated by being abducted along with his brother, as that was completely unacceptable even if six well trained men had jumped him at once, but when one of those men walked into the makeshift prison with Sarah over his shoulder, when he was sure she was safely tucked away in her apartment in Domino, he had nearly lost his mind. He had simply assumed that if she wasn't with them she would be left alone, but he had clearly underestimated the danger he put her in simply by being on friendly terms with her. However, there was more to it than that. Seeing who else had been taken was all he needed to know that somehow whoever was behind this was involved in their past, the one he disliked thinking about even in his own mind. The only thing he had in common with all the people in this ragtag group was duel monsters. He hadn't seen any of them, except Sarah and Mokuba, since he graduated, and had no interest in doing so. Well, perhaps Yugi, but only so he could finally crush him in a damn fair tournament now that the god cards were out of play.

The only conclusion he could draw was that someone else that was in their last life was now out in the open and ready to cause mischief for no apparent reason he could currently understand, and had recognized her the same way he had, or worse, had worked out what he had in that elevator. Sarah, for all she looked like nothing more than a beautiful and poised young woman, was possibly the most dangerous person on the planet, and she didn't even know it. He was sure now that somehow the blue eyes had found her in this life as well, somehow escaping the confinement the pharaoh had placed on the monsters, to be reborn into this world a second time. But then he couldn't see how she could be here otherwise. It wasn't as if she simply housed the blue eyes, her very soul _was_ the great beast. He wasn't sure the two could be separated without her body dying.

And what was worse, was that unlike when she was Kisara she had no idea. In her last life she had been able to control the dragon, even while nearly being stoned to death by a town full of fearful peasants. She had let the blue eyes out only when she had no choice, only when he was in danger, only when she was willing to nearly die every time she recalled it, because the power of it nearly killed her when she unleashed it. Now she had no control at all if her panic attack in the elevator were any indication. To make it even more nerve wracking he was also sure after going back over the police report on her uncle's death much more closely that she had killed him, unconsciously or not. There was no other explanation as to how a man could be electrocuted that was nowhere near a storm, a powerline, or any sort of heavy equipment that would need a very large power source. The police had found her beaten, bloody, and unconscious in her uncle's house. The dragon must have broken loose when he attacked her. He could fill in the details from there, although the thought of anyone treating her that way was sickening. Still, there was nothing he could do about her past, so he tried not to think of it as it only set his temper off and focused on the here and now.

They had fallen to the back of the pack the last two days, guided by him rather than an inability to keep up. Tristan had sprained his ankle yesterday when they were walking down a sand dune, and all the others were taking turns helping him walk, which was keeping them at a moderately slow pace after their initial dash out of that building. They had been walking for hours tonight, with no real purpose or direction, and he wasn't sure how long this could go on. It was hot, and they didn't have much water left. Not for as many people as they had, although he wouldn't be opposed to cutting off Joey completely.

On top of that rather fatal issue, because they wouldn't survive long without water here, all of them were accumulating a sunburn, especially Sarah who's skin was so beautifully pale. They were only walking in the early morning and late evening when the sun was out, but it was clearly enough to ruin her bare arms, face, and exposed neck. She'd been stoically silent about it, but he'd seen her shifting in discomfort when they woke up tonight, having been sleeping as best they could through the heat of the day in whatever shade they could find. He couldn't see how to help her with that though, as he had nothing for her to cover up with. He had been in only a pair of pants and a dress shirt when they had been abducted from the mansion, having ditched his much beloved trenchcoat when he'd come in the door from the office.

"Are you alright?" He asked her just after midnight, breaking several hours of silence. Everyone appeared too tired to talk, even the friendship gang was out of morale boosting speeches, thank all his ancestors. Thinking he was talking to his brother Sarah said nothing, looking at the endless sea of sand surrounding them. "Sarah?" He asked.

She looked over at him, her expression tired, but alert. "What?"

"Are you alright?" He repeated.

"I'm fine." She replied tiredly.

"You're sunburn is getting worse."

She wasn't worried about that, he could tell. "If I were you I'd be more worried about our water situation than my skin."

"Believe me, I am."

"What?" Mokuba asked.

"Let me worry about that." He told him calmly. "We have enough for at least two more days."

"One." She corrected, and he could only assume she had been monitoring their intake closely. "We're all sweating like crazy. We'll need to hydrate more than normal." She shook her head. "We need to find something soon or it won't matter."

He could only agree as he looked about. They were coming up on another massive dune, the sand piled nearly as high as a twelve story building, and he could see everyone was set to walk around the base of it, as they had so many others now. Knowing climbing it would be arduous didn't stop him, or even have him hesitating. He might be able to see something from the top of it. As they approached it he started up it at once, knowing there was little choice if he wanted to find them all help. Sarah and Mokuba stopped at the bottom, both of them breathing heavily.

As he started up Sarah called to the others. "Hold on! Seto's trying to look to see which way to go!"

He heard a variety of responses to that, but even Joey and Tristan were too tired to pass up a break. Halfway up he looked down and saw nearly all of them had collapsed, either sitting or lying over the sand, taking a break while they could. Sarah was standing at the base of the dune, watching him go up, and Yugi was beside her, saying something too softly for him to hear. Thinking he better not be putting any of his nonsense in her head he continued up, his breathing ragged and his legs aching by the time he got to the top. Despite his exhaustion, thirst, and anger over the whole situation he couldn't help but think the view was impressive. The sloping sand dunes appeared to go on forever, and the unobstructed view of the stars was breathtaking, even if that was rather poetic a thought for him.

Turning his eyes back to earth he began to scan the horizon scruptiously. He couldn't see as far in the darkness, but with the moon full overhead he could still make out quite a lot. After several minutes of searching, and having turned in nearly a full circle he saw something different in the expanse of sameness. Squinting his eyes he strained to see what the shadow was and eventually made out a number of straight lines sticking out of the sand, nestled between three more great mounds. A restrained sort of optimism filled him as he recognized that they had to be trees. Letting out a low breath he headed back down, marking the direction they needed to go in, which was slightly to the east of where they had been walking.

Going back down, which was much easier, he jerked his head the way they needed to go. "There might be something that way." He told them, not wanting to get their hopes up if he was wrong.

Sarah, ever ready to try, nodded and picked up one of the three backpacks they had found and stuffed with all the supplies they could shove in them. They had been passing them back and forth to carry as they went so no one would get too tired, and it appeared Yugi had traded his off to her. That must have been what they were talking about. "Let's go then. If there's a place with shade we need to get there before the sun rises."

Yugi smiled at him and he glared back, having no interest in getting any closer than they already were. Yugi sighed, shaking his head, and moved back to Tea and Bakura, who he had been walking with for most of the evening. He took the lead, since he knew where they were going, and reached over and gently tugged the pack off of Sarah's burned shoulders. "Give it to me." He said.

She tried to wrestle it back, skipping around Mokuba to try to hold onto it. "It's my turn, Seto. You carried it yesterday."

"I'll manage somehow." He said dryly, grappling it away from her.

"I'm fine." She insisted, even as he threw the bag over his own back. He hummed in response and she huffed at him in annoyance. Sarah liked when things were fair, liked to pull her own weight, but that didn't mean he had to let her all the time. Besides, it was fun to irritate her and this was one of the few ways to do it. And it would get her mind off things too, which he thought was helpful. She grumbled under her breath about it until they were really walking again and then fell quiet. They walked for nearly two more hours before they got to the spot he saw, and when he came around the last dune separating them he let out a very quiet sigh of relief. Spread out below them was the most picturesque example of an oasis he had ever seen.

He stopped and behind him the group came to a halt, looking around him. There was a long pause and then Tristan let out a loud whoop and raced passed him, slapping a hand over his shoulder as he went. "Alright, Kaiba!"

He brushed his hand over his shoulder as everyone else rushed forward, irritated by the unsolicited touching. Sarah paused next to him, and he heard her whisper something under her breath in what he thought was Welch and he strongly suspected was a small prayer of thanks to he didn't know who. The relief in her eyes was obvious and he was sure how very aware she was that they had nearly all died out here, not that they still couldn't. Still, he felt a sense of pride in finding this for them, of being sure they were safe and had what they needed to survive. It was the same way he felt after he tore Kaiba Corp out from under that bastard Gozaburo and he knew Mokuba would always be taken care of.

The moment was somewhat ruined by the idiocy of his traveling companions, but he still felt good about it. Curbing his exasperation he followed the rowdy group as they headed toward the very fortunately found oasis, the water just peaking out from behind a scraggly looking bush. The were running at it headlong, yelling, and no doubt attracting anything that wanted to hurt them in the next three square miles. The palm trees were a welcome sight, as was the sound of crickets, at least the ones he could hear over Yugi and his gang. They had heard nothing but the wind over the sands for days now.

On one edge of the place, across from a small, bubbling spring that was feeding the life here, was a large rock outcropping that towered even over the great waves of sand. He was looking around, his eyes sharp, with a restraining hand on his brother to keep him from running into anything the others were attracting to them. He didn't want him bolting into danger with the rest of them. However, it appeared there was nothing here to worry about, and he eventually let his brother go so he could drink his fill. Sarah was gulping water out of one of the containers they had with them, refilling it at least four times in rapid succession before handing it off to him as he got to the edge of the small pool. He nodded to her, taking it and filling it as he crouched down. The water wasn't cool, but it tasted better than any water he'd ever had, likely because he was on the verge of serious dehydration. He'd been sweating heavily, like everyone else, and his shirt had been soaked through a dozen times over. His body was frantic for water and he drank as much as he could without throwing it back up, watching to be sure Mokuba got all he wanted and wasn't crowded out, although no one was really pushing after the initial grab for the liquid.

Relaxing slightly he lowered the old bottle from his lips to look around and realized that Sarah had vanished. He stood up at once, and after several irrationally panicked moments, which he wasn't proud of simply because he lost sight of her, he spotted her in the last place he would have guessed. Sarah had already climbed halfway up the steep rock face on the far side of the oasis and was making steady and confident progress toward the top. For a moment he was confused, but then realized she had every intention of doing exactly what he had done several hours ago. She was looking to see if they were close to anything else. Walking over to where she was he studied the rock, seeing it was weathered with age and the elements and had a number of indents in it which made excellent hand and footholds. As long as she was careful he doubted she would have a problem getting up. That didn't make it a safe proposition though.

When she was about three quarters up the fifty foot face he spoke below her, sipping water between comments. "Don't fall." He told her, his voice level and calm. "There's no way to stop internal bleeding out here."

"Thanks, Seto, real comforting." She called down as she kept going. She was apparently skilled at climbing and wasn't having much trouble as she went. Her movements confident and smooth.

"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, coming up next to him. "That's not safe."

"She's trying to see if there's anything around us to walk to." He told him calmly, understanding why she was risking a fall. "That's the highest thing we've seen in two days. Of course how well she can see is debatable in the dark."

"Will you be a little optimistic for once?" She panted as she was at the last ten feet. "There's a full moon and you saw this place."

"Save your breath for climbing." He advised.

"Save your bossing for work." She fired back, which had him huffing out a laugh despite himself.

A minute later and she was at the top, hauling herself up over the edge and he craned his neck up. She vanished for a moment, save for one foot, and he could only surmise that she had flopped onto her back to catch her breath. Even with a lot of handholds that had been an impressive show of athleticism. A few moments later she got up, standing a few inches away from the edge. Going up on the very tips of her toes she looked out over the desert. She turned about, squinting, and stared off farther to the east for several long moments. "Well?" He called up.

"There might be something over there." She said, pointing toward it. "But I'm not sure. If there is it's far off." She shook her head and looked down at him. "I'm not sure I'd risk my life on it, and that's what we'd be doing. I can look again when the sun comes up. That might help."

"We can't stay here." He pointed out. They might have water here, and some shelter with the large cliff face, but there was no real food. It's not like they could survive here indefinitely on a handful of crickets.

"We don't even know where here is." She responded. "Other than not Japan." She waved about herself as she looked down at him, frustrated with the situation, but not with him. "This could literally be any desert on the planet. We have no way of knowing, and no way of knowing which way to go." He was quiet, thinking, and she shifted as she prepared to climb back down. As she was checking to make sure the way she came up was the easiest way to get down she paused and got down on her knees, staring down at something. "There's something up here!" She called down.

"What is it?" Mokuba asked.

"Who are you talk-" Duke started as he came up beside him. "Gods, is Sarah up there? Get down here before you hurt yourself!"

"I'll do what I want, thank you." She replied. "It looks like a carving." She continued her conversation with them. "A bird, maybe? Hold on." He saw her hand darting around and thought she was brushing the sand away. Sarah frowned down at it before shifting on her knees to look over the side. Her face was the picture of puzzlement. "I think… I think these are hieroglyphics."

By this point everyone was standing at the base of the large rock. Yugi spoke up at once. "Hieroglyphics?" He asked, interested. "Are you sure?"

"Well no." She told him. "I don't read ancient Egyptian, but it looks like pictures in the books on it I've seen in school. It could be something else though."

"Can you come down and draw it?" He asked her, hating what he was about to say even as he said it. "Bakura can read ancient Egyptian." He left out the part about being able to read it himself.

"Seriously?" She asked with interest. "Did your uncle teach you?"

"In a manner of speaking." Bakura muttered sarcastically, and he could only assume he wasn't the only one with some hatred toward ancient Egypt. Bakura certainly had gotten the short end of the stick as far as ancient entities were concerned.

Sarah, having not really heard him from her perch, continued. "Let me look at it for a second so I get it right. I'll be down in a minute."

"Be careful!" Tea called, and for once he couldn't even be annoyed with such honest concern.

Sarah sat on her knees and studied whatever it was quietly for about a minute. When she was sure she had it memorized she got up and started to climb down. She went down carefully, but even more quickly than she went up, and when she was nearly all the way down Duke stepped forward and wrapped his hands around her slim waist. He lifted her slightly and she let go, allowing him to get her the last foot or so down. The sight had him nearly sputtering out loud in rage. He didn't even bother to consider it was an overreaction to someone else helping her. He couldn't believe the audacity of Devlin touching her, and it took all his willpower to say nothing about it. Sarah crouched down and began to sketch what she saw in the sand, thinking nothing of it, but Duke saw him glaring and smirked at him, amused with his outrage.

As he seethed quietly, Sarah finished and sat back, giving Bakura room to see. The other man crouched down next to her as he read it over her shoulder. It was a short message, and very to the point. "Interesting." Bakura said. "This is fairly modern."

"What's it say?" Mai asked, leaning in with all the rest of them.

Bakura answered. "To the east."

"That's it?" Joey demanded.

"That's all it says." Bakura agreed.

"Wasn't there anything else up there?" Tristan asked.

"No." Sarah told him, looking disappointed. "I checked. But the only thing that I thought I could see was to the east. It was so far though, it just looked like a bigger heat wave."

"It doesn't seem like there's much we can do until tomorrow night." Yugi pointed out. "It's only an hour or so until dawn. We might as well rest here until then. We have plenty of water, and the trees and this cliff will give us lots of shade."

Unable to disagree he said nothing. There was always the chance that the men that took them could come looking, but they might also think they had already died of exposure. Unless they randomly picked this way to search for them there was no way of knowing which way they went, as the wind had blown their footprints away almost immediately. Certainly no one in the world was that good at tracking. Knowing waiting was the best course of action he headed back to the spring to get some more water, turning things over in his head as everyone settled in to rest.

Mia and Serenity followed after him a few moments later and sat by the water, taking turns drinking out of another water bottle. They didn't speak to him, and he took no notice of them as he tried to work out how to get out of here. Unfortunately he had little to go on, save the hieroglyphics Sarah had found. He had read them as easily as Bakura, and if they were here there was only one place they could be. He didn't know what he was expecting. It seemed he was cursed by this place. Cursed to be brought back again and again. Keeping his face blank he filled the bottle one last time and got up, returning to his brother, who was sprawled out under a tree nearly asleep already.

Sarah was speaking to Bakura about the writing near the cliff and he nudged his brother to rouse him. "Drink some more before you go to sleep, Mokuba."

He sat up with a yawn and took the bottle. "This is messed up, nii-san."

"No kidding, kid." He agreed, sitting down beside him. "But we'll get home. I'll figure this out."

"You know you don't have to figure everything out by yourself." Mokuba told him after swallowing another mouthful of water. "There are a bunch of other people here to help and they all want to get out of here too." He rolled his eyes and Mokuba shook his head. "I'd tell you to stop being stubborn, but it'd be a waste of energy." He sent his brother an exasperated glance and Mokuba grinned before flopping back. "You could always go brainstorm with Sarah."

"I think if she had any ideas she would have told me by now."

"I suppose." Mokuba agreed as he tried to get comfortable. "It was nice of you to carry the bag for her." He said nothing to that and he saw Mokuba watching him out of the corner of his eye. After several seconds of silence Mokube went on. "Are you really going to be this way about it?"

"What?" He asked, frowning over at him.

Mokuba sent him a disturbingly penetrative stare. "Seriously, nii-san. Even you aren't this dense." His brother sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "You're really hopeless."

Knowing very well what Mokuba was hinting at he continued on with his silence, leaning against the tree. Bothered that his brother has sussed the situation out so accurately when he was doing his damndest to hide his feelings, he decided the best course of action was to do nothing. If he denied what Mokuba was implying it would only have him goading him endlessly, if he confirmed it he was actually afraid to know what might happen. Knowing his brother he would end up trying to be a matchmaker. He would have to kill him, his only family, to save himself the embarrassment. Irritated by getting caught out he wasn't really in the best mood when Yugi walked over, even if Mokuba was snoring and clearly done talking about the whole thing. "Do you want to watch first?" He grunted in agreement to the other man's question. They had all been taking turns keeping a lookout while the others slept and he hardly cared when his turn was. "You did a good job finding this place."

"Are you not even remotely bothered by any of this?" He asked irritably. "Or even a little shocked that of all the things we could have found we stumbled over hieroglyphics? You know very well where we are."

"I could ask you the same thing." Yugi replied. "But no, I'm not surprised at all. I always knew I would end up back here somehow."

"He's dead." He told the other man bluntly. For all he loathed Yugi for beating him over and over again he would admit they had a connection. The pharaoh he had once carried around with him was one of the few people to ever challenge him in any real way. So while he might despise Motou, he also respected him. Respected him for being good at what he did, for being clever, and for working hard. It bothered him more than he cared to admit that Yugi still seemed lost without Atem, even though in the end he had been the better duelist. He needed to learn to stand on his own. "You pine over him like he'll come back again. He's moved on the way he wanted to, the way you should."

Yugi stared down at him, his expression unreadable. "Don't you ever get tired of fighting this, Kaiba? Of fighting who you are?"

"I know who I am." He snapped.

Yugi's eyes flicked up, across the small oasis where Sarah was still talking to Bakura. "And Sarah? We both know who she is, but she doesn't does she?"

"You leave her out of this." He demanded angrily.

"You should tell her." Yugi told him, not backing down from his anger. "One way or another she's going to find out the same way you did. Don't you think she'd rather hear it from you?"

"I think she'd rather have a long and happy life away from all of this." He told him. "Which is exactly what she'll have."

Yugi kept watching him, his own seemingly innocent eyes radiating understanding. "You still love her don't you?"

He clenched his jaw, and only years of training and self-discipline had him maintaining eye contact. "What I feel or don't feel is none of your concern. Keep your stories to yourself and leave her be."

Yugi shook his head but didn't argue with him. "Wake Sarah up after you. Joey is watching after her. She said that was fine earlier."

He glared after the other man resentfully and must have appeared as irritable as he was when Sarah came over and flopped down. Around the area everyone else was finding spots to sleep, and soon they were all within ten square feet of one another as they laid down. "What's with the grumpy face? You look like we're trapped in the desert about to die or something." She commented, tilting her head at him in question.

"Very cute." He switched to English to reduce the understanding of their conversations should anyone decide to eavesdrop. "You should sleep while you can." He reached out and carefully held her jaw, barely touching her with his fingertips. Turning her head toward him he looked her over critically, especially her skin, which really wasn't getting any better despite being out of the sun for over nine hours. "If you can sleep at all burned to a crisp the way you are." His thumb touched her lip with extreme care, even it was scorched, and cracked from the heat.

"I've been burned before, and you're starting to get red yourself." She told him. "Why are you so worried about it?"

He dropped his arm away. "We're going to take turns keeping watch again. You're up after me. Get as much sleep as you can while you can."

"Alright." She agreed as she looked about for the best spot to lay down.

"When your shift is done wake up Joey." Sarah shot the blond a distrustful look and his lip curled. He didn't fault her for worrying about Wheeler actually being responsible. "I feel the same way, but he'll be fine with his sister and Valentine here. Especially after they were threatened. He is protective if nothing else."

"Did my ears deceive me or did you just compliment Joey Wheeler?"

"It was a blanket statement about his character." He assured her. "Not a compliment."

Her eyes danced happily at his denial. "If we all get skewered I'm blaming you."

"I refuse to take responsibility in any way for the mutt." He informed her as he settled in to keep watch, shifting so he was more comfortable leaning against the tree.

"Good to know. Goodnight, Seto." With that she twisted and lay with her back to where Mokuba was sleeping and she closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep and when his hour was up he was reluctant to wake her up, but he needed to rest as well. Leaning over he shook her gently and her head came up at once. Her blue eyes gazed up at him sleepily. "It's your watch." Reaching to his wrist he unclipped his designer watch and shook it off. He handed it to her and she took it from him as she sat up. "I would like that back in the morning."

"But it matches my shoes so perfectly." She replied dryly.

He rolled his eyes. "That mouth of yours."

She laughed under her breath and his lips twitched as he lay down next to Mokuba. As she occupied the position he had abandoned. He fell asleep quickly considering how much stress he was feeling and dreamed of nothing for the first time in days. He was sure he would have slept solidly until the next night if it hadn't been for Tea screaming fearfully for help.

He sat up with a jolt and found utter chaos. The sun was sinking and the oasis was bathed in the red light of dusk. All over the clearing men in dark brown cloaks with hoods over their faces were grabbing their group. Lunging forward he punched the one leaning down to get Mokuba, knocking him backward. His brother scrambled up, kicking the man for good measure, and darted behind him as he got to his feet. He wasn't the only one fighting, as Tea had alerted everyone that their was a problem, but several people had already been pinned, including Sarah.

She was being held tightly under the throat by a very large man who was all but dangling her off the ground by her neck. Coughing as her airway was constricted, and yanking at the man's very large arm, she was fighting to keep herself on the tips of her toes so she could keep breathing. As he saw her struggling the man spoke in a deeply resounding voice. "I suggest you all calm down before I have to hurt the girl." He rocked back on his heels, his fists clenched, as ice ran through his veins.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Sabotage

He stood still where he was, his eyes locked on the cloaked man holding Sarah. He lifted her higher and she began to claw at him with her nails as her airway was fully cut off. Her struggling increased exponentially, and when he saw her eyes begin to glow blue, her irises vanishing under her magic, he knew his fears that she had no control had been well founded. Now in mortal peril, and no doubt having decided that she had been a victim for the last time the night her uncle died, the savage part of her had surfaced. Having no idea how to calm her down when she was being choked to death, and figuring anyone doing that deserved it, he was about to charge forward to stop the inevitable destruction when the brawling to his left stopped abruptly.

"Yugi?" A familiar, but fully unexpected voice asked. There was a thump then the same man, one that had all but destroyed his battle city tournament, shouted. "They're friends!"

Sarah snarled breathlessly and the giant, who he knew could only be one man, turned his head toward Marik's voice, always ready to obey. Seeing his chance to prevent catastrophe he snarled with all the force he had in ancient Egyptian, fully meaning to get his point across. "Odion! Return her to me _immediately_!"

Odion, who easily towered over six and a half feet, loosened his hold on her as he pushed her roughly back to him. Sarah was put off balance and stumbled, tripping over her feet. Lunging forward he caught her before she could fall to the sand and pulled her back, getting away from the threat as quickly as he could. "You're safe." He assured her as he got them back to where his brother was and let her sit on her knees in the sand as she tried to get her air back, holding her against his legs. Mokuba dropped down next to her, clearly worried for her. "Breathe, Sarah. Breathe and relax."

Odion reached up and pulled his hood off, revealing a square face with smokey green eyes. His gaze was steely, and he knew the man had not a single humorous molecule in his body. Driven by fanatic loyalty he spent his life serving Marik and his older sister, trying to repay the debt of being taken in by their mother. Mokuba was just as angry as he was by the assault and snapped at the other man, clearly unintimidated as he turned his head, both of his hands on Sarah's arms as she tried to breathe properly again. "What you did in battle city wasn't enough?" His brother demanded of Odion. "You attack sleeping women now?"'

"There's no need to fight." Yugi interjected, urging for peace, and Sarah darted a glance between his rival and the giant of a man that caught her as she coughed violently. He kept a firm hold on her shoulder as he stood protectively behind her, hoping the physical contact of being pressed against him was enough to send the dragon back to sleep, although he had no real way of knowing. All he knew was that touching her had seemed to help in the elevator. It wasn't much to gamble all their lives on. "Old friends are the best kind."

"How wise." He sneered, but despite everything he could see this was a huge windfall for all of them. Marik owed Yugi his very soul, and for putting on a tournament the entire Ishtar family was in his debt. As long as they were here they could at least be useful to him. "Perhaps your old friends can get us out of this damn sand box."

Merik was a slim man with light colored hair and pale purple eyes. The youngest of the Ishtar trio he had still managed to wrestle control as head of the family into his own hands. This was partially due to him being the first blood male in his line, where Odion had been adopted, and partially due to his rather overbearing personality. Either way, he was sure if pressed, and he was, he could bully his way past even this stubborn Egyptian. Merik cast a glance his way, but his eyes were almost immediately drawn downward to where he had Sarah safely in his grasp. His eyebrow drew up in interest and he was sure the man recognized her as easily as he and Yugi had. "I believe we can do that, Priest." He replied back in Egyptian, his attention locked on Sarah. "I see your dragon found you at last. I was wondering if she reincarnated with you."

He glared at the other man as Sarah looked up at him, confused. Apparently she couldn't understand them, and he wondered how often that had ever happened to her. Seeing she had mostly caught her breath he helped her to her feet when she shifted to get herself up. Odion spoke directly to Merik, reverting to the much more modern Japanese. "We need to get home and clear this place before the sun sets fully. We may well be tracked otherwise."

"Agreed." Marik replied. "Come. You can rest and clean up. We aren't far. You set off an alarm when you walked in, it's how we knew you were here."

Bakura spoke up. "I don't suppose any other alarms have gone off?"

He was surprised anyone in Yugi's group asked anything intelligent, although Bakura always seemed to have the most level head. "Yes, actually." Marik replied. "Those men...were less fortunate than you."

Sarah rasped quietly in English, picking up that everyone seemed to know each other. "Is this safe?"

He murmured back. "Safer than staying out here."

Mokuba also spoke in English. "They aren't bad. Not that they're good."

"Great." She muttered even as she followed the other teens who seemed thrilled to pieces to be following questionably safe sand people. He made sure to keep her well away from Odion as they walked, unsure if she would lose her temper if he got too close to her. He wasn't going to risk all their lives on a fast forgiveness on her part, largely because he was so angry he was ready to spit fire over the whole incident, and also because she kept shooting distrustful glances toward the large man around his body. Still, she kept her cool, even if she was keeping very close to him all at once.

An hour later and they came up a dune. Gazing down he saw that below them, nestled inside what appeared to be only an endless desert were the remains of some sort of ancient town. It was nearly gone, blown away by time and the elements, and only walls and piles of weathered stones lying in heaps showed that anything had ever been here. Beside him Sarah stopped at the rise, scanning what was in front of them as the rest of the group headed down. "Where are we?" She asked, speaking for the first time since they left the oasis.

"Egypt."

She was utterly confused. "Why?"

"Hurry up." Marik ordered, seeing they were straggling. "We don't have much time if we want to hide the fact that we found you before anyone else did."

Mokuba, who was a few yards ahead of them looked back, pausing as he stood between them and the larger group. Shaking his head he kept moving forward, disliking being told what to do, but not wanting to get caught out here. "Let's go."

Sarah followed after him, but only after a significant pause that let him get at least a few feet ahead of her. As they walked into the ruins she continued to shadow him, her eyes darting around as she became increasingly uncomfortable. He supposed he couldn't blame her. He knew the Ishtars and wanted nothing to do with them even aware they wouldn't hurt their group. Sarah knew nothing about these strange people except she had been attacked. He wasn't sure what he could say to comfort her further, and he doubted the atmosphere here was helping. This place reeked of strangeness and the silence that had settled around them was eerie, the dry hair whistling between the stones.

Marik moved away from Yugi and went to a nondescript pile of blocks. Reaching down he got hold of a rope and pulled. A hidden door creaked up, the sand running off of it in waves, revealing a dark staircase down into what he assumed were the bowels of this ruin. Having at least gotten a gist of what their upbringing was like during their previous encounters he rather wondered how any of them turned out even half sane. He wasn't sure anyone would be stable growing up in a place like this, and these people didn't have the mental fortitude he thought they should have to begin with. Two of the cloaked men, he assumed they were flunkies of some sort, moved down first as the others spread out to check their surroundings and wipe the sand free of their footprints.

"Good lord." Mia sighed. "Are we really going down there?"

"Would you rather stay up here?" Marik asked her sarcastically.

"Come on, babe." Joey weedled. "I bet they have a place for you to wash your hair down there."

"You're lucky you're cute." Mia informed him as she followed Yugi and Tea down, both of which seemed totally at their ease. He stopped at the back of the line to go down the narrow staircase, as there was only room for one at a time, and crossed his arms, impatient to figure out how to get out of here. At the very least they could point them in the direction of the nearest town. One call and they would be out of here.

"Uh, nii-san?"

"Yes, Mokuba?" He asked distractedly.

"It doesn't look like Sarah has any intention of following us."

Frowning, he looked over his shoulder to see her well back from the stairway, having clearly retreated another ten yards from where she had already been. She had pressed her back against a crumbling pillar of stones, her arms crossed over her chest and a look of stubborn resolve had settled on her face as she stood there, all but digging herself in. He realized all at once what the issue was. "Wait here." He instructed as he headed over to her.

She didn't bother to let him say whatever he was going to as he got over to her. "I'm not going in there."

He sighed, exasperated despite his irritatingly blatant affection for her. "You can't stay up here."

"Yes, I can." She assured him willfully.

She'd be dead in hours when the sun came up. "It's not safe up-"

"That man tried to kill me less than an hour ago." She reminded him unnecessarily, and the spreading bruise on her neck was proof enough of that. "I am not going any farther with any of them and I'm certainly not going down that horrible little staircase into who knows what."

"Nothing about that staircase is going to hurt you." He told her. Her fear of small spaces, while real to her, was illogical.

"I'm _not_ doing it." She told him vehemently. "I don't trust these people."

Despite her irrational fear of closed in spaces he really couldn't blame her for not trusting them. They had given her no reason to do so and every reason to keep as far from them as possible. But despite her terror she had to go in. He could either drag her down, which would no doubt end poorly in a multitude of ways, or convince her to go down herself. He met her eyes levelly. "Do you trust me?" He asked her with steady calm.

She was silent, staring at him with complete frustration. She knew what he was doing, trying to trick her into going, and she pressed farther back into the stones as her eyes darted to the staircase. When her attention returned to him he saw the dread in her eyes, and the shame in that very feeling. He shoulders hunched up as she turned her face away from him. "Don't make me to do this, Seto." She begged.

He held his hand out to her, palm up, hating that she had just done that. He didn't want her begging him, it made something inside him cringe. "I won't ever make you do anything you don't want to do." He promised sincerely. "I'm asking you to come with me. These people will help us get home." He flexed his fingers encouragingly. "It's up to you, but we can get help here."

Letting out a low whine she took his hand and he wrapped his fingers around it firmly. Turning, he lead her to the staircase where Mokuba and Marik were both still waiting for them. "If you're done admiring the view." The Egyptian remarked dryly.

He sent the man a warning glare before nodding to his brother to proceed them. The last thing he wanted was for someone to mock Sarah for her fear. Once Mokuba was going he followed him, keeping his arm loose as he lead her down after him. He felt hard resistance and paused, looking back up at her as he was two stairs down. Sarah had baulked at the top step and behind her Marik was watching her with a cross between impatience and curiosity, unsure of what the issue was. He ignored him, not caring one whit what he thought. "It's alright." He told her in English, trying to be genuinely reassuring. "I won't let anything happen. Trust me."

Sarah pressed her lips together and whimpered involuntarily, but went down after him with tremendous force of will. Mokuba was watching them a well, understanding there was some sort of problem, but not trying to rush anything. Mokuba had always been the more patient of the two of them. He kept a firm hold on her as they went down and could feel her trembling from fright. He counted fifteen steps and then they came out onto a flat, if uneven, room. He heard the door slam close behind them and the moonlight was replaced with flickering torches. Sarah's whole body went rigid and he squeezed her hand reassuringly, tugging her so she was even with him and could see the rest of the larger room. He was sure the only reason she hadn't bolted back up the stairs was because of the grip he had on her.

Seeing that there was more space down here she let out a little breath, but was still clearly not comfortable pressed in here with another dozen people. However, the panic was retreating slightly as she edged forward and away from the absolute confinement of the entry into this underground hideout. Behind them Marik had caught up easily. He called up to the front of the party. "Yugi, go forward and take the second left, there's plenty of room there for all of us."

"Sure thing!" Yugi called cheerfully. Tea was looking around with delighted interest, as if this were some sort of tourist shop, and everyone else seemed fully, naively comfortable, with the possible exception of Duke who was also suspicious.

"Are there spiders down here?" Serenity asked nervously.

"No way." Tristan lied horribly. Clearly, if there were spiders this was where they would be.

He shook his head as they went, looking into doorways as they passed and making a mental map of everything he saw. Sarah kept following him, still shaking, and Mokuba kept shooting concerned glances at her. He made a motion with his free hand to keep moving, not wanting him to ask at this very moment why she was close to a nervous breakdown. Three minutes later and Yugi lead them into a thankfully enormous room. He was sure it had once been a large cavern that the Egyptians had used to their advantage. It was easily as big as the largest dueling arena and fairly well maintained considering it's age, at least what he could see of it with only torches lighting the place. The walls had been smoothed out, and were covered from floor to ceiling in hieroglyphics. Every fifteen feet or so a giant pillar stretched up into the darkness, carved artfully into flowing shapes that were only marred by the test of time.

He felt Sarah's grip on him loosen in a rush and relaxed slightly himself. She moved farther out into the space and he let her fingers slip out of his as she let him go to get a hold of herself, or just give herself more free space all the way around her. As she trotted to the the left he clenched his hand slightly, already missing the warmth of hers and wondering how he could feel so bereft over such a little thing. As she moved toward the center of the great room Mokuba eased up beside him and whispered. "What was that about?"

"She's claustrophobic." He murmured back.

Mokuba frowned. "How did you know that?"

"We got stuck on an elevator at the office."

Mokuba peered over at her. "She seems okay now."

"There's more space now." He pointed out.

"Welcome to our home." A low and sensual voice greeted from behind them. Everyone turned their attention to it and he was hardly surprised to see Ishizu step out of the shadows. Tall and exquisitely proportioned she was undeniably a gorgeous woman. Her dark hair and smokey eyes were a tempting lure, and her natural grace and confidence could no doubt draw in nearly any man. What was more, he was sure she knew it and used that to her advantage. He didn't blame her for it as he used his own talents to get what he wanted, but he wasn't fooled by it either. Ishizu was a clever and motivated woman that needed to be kept an eye on unless one wanted to find themselves on the wrong end of a deal. He had learned that from personal experience, even if he had managed to elude her will at the last moment.

Making a motion with her hand had several of the same men from the desert coming out with trays of food and water. "We're honored to have all of you here." She sent Yugi a genuinely pleased smile. "And I'm happy to see you all again."

"Ishizu!" Yugi trotted over to her eagerly and he saw Tea puffing up jealously. How boring.

"Yugi, I confess I've missed you terribly this last year." She took his hand in both of hers. "We must speak together, you and I, but first, please-" She turned her attention to the group at large. "-all of you must refresh yourselves. There's plenty of food and water here for you. You're safe in our home. Please relax."

He ignored the hospitality. "I suppose it's too much to expect that you have a phone?"

"There are no phones here, but we will take you to town to use one after we've spoken, Kaiba." Ishizu told him coolly.

"Take me now." He demanded, wanting to get out of here.

"It's not safe to leave." Odion said as he came out with another tray of water. "Not until we're sure everyone that was following you has been taken care of."

"You said you got them." Mokuba threw back.

"We found a group yes." Odion replied. "But there are more."

Sarah came back over to them, having calmed down slightly, and Ishizu caught sight of her for the first time. She had been hidden behind the others as she paced her way back to a more relaxed state. Ishizu's dark eyes widened in real surprise and Sarah frowned slightly at her, picking up on the odd recognition. "How do you know there are more?" She asked, apparently deciding to speak to Odion at last if it meant finding that out.

"There are other tracks." He replied evasively and he wasn't the only one in the room that saw the lie. "If you'll all excuse me. I have tasks to attend to."

"Thank you, brother." Ishizu said, and he tilted his head in deference to her before leaving. "Please, help yourselves." She told them, indicating the food.

"Don't mind if I do." Tristan said, rubbing his hands together eagerly before lunging toward the trays. He made a face of disgust as he and Joey began to eat as if they'd never learned a manner, or to shut their mouths while they chewed. It may have been nearly two days since any of them ate, but there was no reason to act like animals.

Sarah ignored the food, going back to pacing about as he turned to interrogate Ishizu. Mokuba had plopped down in front of one of the trays with Tea and Bakura and was eating in a much more appropriate manner. However, he expected nothing less than that and his brother knew it. Now several feet from the others he got no less pushy. "Take me to a phone now." He ordered.

Her dark eyes shimmered with irritation. "Patience never was a virtue of yours, Kaiba."

"Believe it or not I have better places to be than a dank cave. I have a merger pending in less than two days now that could literally make or break my company. I need to get home."

"We have things to discuss before you leave." Ishizu told him.

"If this is any more of you ancient Egypt crap, so help me-"

"Kisara is with you." She stated, cutting him off.

"Just… let that one go." Yugi suggested.

"It's impossible." Ishizu told them both.

He clenched his teeth. "Her name is Sarah Drake. You will address her by that name."

"Her name is irrelevant to what and who she is." The woman told them. "She shouldn't be here."

"Why?" Yugi asked curiously. "She's not the only one to reincarnate. Both you and Kaiba have." He made a motion with his head across the room. "And Bakura as well."

"And here we go." He snapped, crossing his arms impatiently.

"Yes, but she shouldn't have."

He rolled his eyes as Yugi sent her a confused look. "But why?"

"Because she doesn't have the soul of a human, but a duel monster. They've been locked away. It's impossible that she escaped the prison the pharaoh created for them."

"As fascinating as this topic is I'm going to go ahead and turn the discussion back to the phone."

They both ignored him, it was infuriating. "She-" He cut Yugi off.

"Enough!" He snapped, and the rest of the group began to take notice of the conversation. "Enough of all of this! Take me to a phone!"

"Very well." Ishizu said, her voice tight. "But even if I take you to town no one will have a phone available for you to use until morning."

"Why?" He demanded.

"We aren't in Japan. We are very far out in the desert. People travel out of town, taking their satellite phones with them when they leave. Until the traders get to the market all you can do is sit and wait. You may do so here in the safety of my home or at the market, where people are no doubt waiting to capture you again."

He seethed, but saw no way around this for the moment. Whirling around he stalked over to a pillar and leaned against it, trying to control his temper, which at this moment was quite the feat. No one bothered him, although Mokuba was shooting him glances and Sarah kept noting where he was with her eyes as she made a circuit around the room, clearly still too agitated to sit or eat. He stewed in rage for some time, although eventually he got himself under control. Sarah too seemed to be back in command of her emotions and was sitting next to a tray by herself eating some flat bread and a dish that appeared to be a mix of lentils and other grain he couldn't identify. Across the room nearly everyone else was watching Joey and Duke play dungeon dice monsters. Bakura, the only one not cheering one of them on, had taken a torch off it's sconce and was moving around the room slowly, reading the walls.

Going to Sarah he sat down and picked up a piece of the bread. "What's happening, Seto? Who are these people and why do they live in some underground city? You obviously all know them."

"They're from an ancient family." He told her truthfully. "Direct descendants of the temple guardians of ancient Egypt. Their family has lived in this place since there were pharaohs here."

"Seriously with this ancient Egypt thing again?" She asked. "Why does this keep coming up? Why would anyone bring us all to Egypt?"

"It's ridiculous, but it may have saved our lives." He took a bite of the bread as he glanced around, able to read the closest hieroglyphics to him, but having no interest in doing so. When he swallowed he continued. "We all met during battle city."

"What's battle city?"

"A dueling tournament I threw almost four years ago now. It brought every high ranking duelist in the world to Domino. All three of them participated."

She turned that over for a moment. "The woman likes Yugi, a lot." She said at last. "And none of them seem to like you at all."

"I'm not really what you would call a people person." He told her blandly.

Her lips twitched madly at that. "I wouldn't have suspected that of you. You always seem so open and welcoming toward others."

He huffed, amused with her teasing. He liked that she never seemed to hold it against him that he didn't get on well with other people, getting easily frustrated with the large majority of them. He found that most people were either dumb or annoying, and honestly it was easier not to deal with them. Most other people simply couldn't handle that aspect of his personality. For Sarah it didn't seem to be a problem, but then again she was wary of strangers in general. "How badly did he hurt you?" He asked, indicating her neck.

"I'm fine." She said, but the bruise was getting darker as time went on. It had to hurt.

"If it starts to swell at all you need to tell me." He told her, afraid her airway would be cut off again, this time by her body reacting to the injury. She shrugged and went back to eating quietly. As she was finishing her meal Ishizu, who had vanished, walked back into the cavern.

"I've a place for everyone to clean up if you'd like. You'll need to take turns however. There's only enough room for two at a time."

"Let the girls go first." Duke said as he rolled a handful of dice. "Mia's about to kill herself over her dirty hair."

"You say that like it's a joke." The woman told him as she stood up, stretching her arms up. "I volunteer to go first with Serenity. You and Tristan will have to flirt with her later. Show us the way, hon."

Ishizu took her into a hall to the right of where they came in and he saw Sarah shaking her head. He was sure she was not at all thrilled to be paired with Tea by default. Sarah really got along with most people, but Tea was so overbearingly interested in her that it clearly set her on edge. Leaning back against the wall he tapped his fingers impatiently over his leg, willing it to be morning so they could leave. Suddenly, his watch was tossed gently into his lap. Taking it he glanced up at Sarah, who had laid back down in the sand at the base of the pillar they were beside and was staring up at the carvings. "I decided they don't in fact match these shoes and I can't go around with clashing accessories." She told him. "Don't you dare try to leave to find a phone without me. I'm going with you."

He hummed in agreement, thinking it would be better to have both Mokuba and Sarah with him at all times. Even if it was dangerous to go into town he thought it would be even more dangerous to split up. Slipping the watch back on his wrist he clipped it in place and finished the rest of the food on the tray. It was bland but palatable, and he was full when all was said and done. By the time he had finished Mia and Serenity were back, appearing much cleaner, and Sarah had forced herself up with Tea to follow Ishizu to wherever the clean water was. Duke and Joey had also completed their game, with the dark haired man coming out ahead of the mutt by a slim margin. Other people began to lay down or lounge about as well, no doubt still tired after all the hiking and their interrupted sleep schedule that day.

He wasn't tired however, feeling hyperalert, and spotted Marik watching him from yet another hallway off the large room they were in. He was largely hidden by the shadows, but he had felt eyes on him. When Marik had his attention he made a motion for him to come to him and he narrowed his eyes, refusing to move. Marik sent him aggravated stare and motioned more sharply. Wondering what the hell he wanted he got up, noting that Mokuba was now in the midst of a dungeon dice monsters game with Joey. Figuring he would be safe here, and so would Sarah once she returned, he moved silently into the doorway. "We need to speak with you." Marik murmured. "They'll all be fine here. I have guards and traps at every entrance."

"Then speak." He ordered.

"Come this way. It's more of a show and tell experience."

Half sure the man was going to try something he was on alert as they moved deeper into the ruins. After several twists and turns they came into another large room, although this one was roughly the size of his office twice over. Ishizu and Odion were already here, along with Yugi, who must have slipped out when he wasn't paying attention. Across the room, at the far wall surrounded by burned candles and the remains of incense, which could only be called a shrine, was the millennium stone. As tall as a man and easily five tons, the carving stared with blank eyes across the room. Carved into the shape of a pharaoh the stone had seven slots meticulously hallowed out of it. They were meant to hold the millennium items, and had been the very place they had been forged, brought into existence with the blood, fear, and sacrifice of ninety-nine innocent lives. This object was more than an artifact, it was imbued with dark magic and haunted by those very souls it had taken to create such powerful magic. It's very existence was abhorrent.

His eyes flew over it as something very much like dread filled his belly. "What's that thing doing here? I thought it was destroyed. I saw the temple collapse over it myself."

"So did we." Marik told him. "And yet it reappeared here, six months ago."

"That doesn't make any sense." He stated. "Giant stones don't just appear out of nowhere."

Yugi was standing right before the stone, studying it intently, but he noted he was being very careful not to touch it. "It's been broken." He commented, as much to himself as the others. "And then pieced back together."

"Yes." Ishizu agreed. "We went back to the ruins of Kul Elna to try to discover what happened. It took us three months to dig down to where the room collapsed. Every trace of the stone was removed, as it had come to us here, but we did recover a few things."

Reaching over to an old wooden table she carefully pulled back a piece of white linen. Underneath it, gleaming in the dim light, were five of the seven millennium items. Yugi was silent as he looked at them, but reaching up he touched the millennium item he held, the puzzle, around his neck. He didn't need to be a genius to do this math. "Where's the last one?" He demanded as Yugi's expression went blank.

"We don't know." Marik told him. "It wasn't there and I assure you we went through every inch of that place."

Yugi's eyes flew over the items as he came back to himself. "The scale is gone." He looked back up at Ishizu. "But does it matter? Atem is at rest now. He sealed the door to the shadow realm."

"The millennium items can still be used." Marik said. "The pharaoh was a safeguard, a key if you will. But if someone got the scale to work they could easily open the shadow realm. They could… bypass the security system he put in place. That very thing is what they were made to do. Who is there to stop them now?"

His gaze went back to the items and his attention lingered on the millennium rod, the item his past self had been the original wielder of. After that Marik had taken it, thousands of years later, and the power it gave him nearly destroyed them all. He had a sneaking suspicion that much like the god cards only a very few people could safely use a millennium item, and Marik had not been one of them. As that thought entered his head he saw the ancient version of himself, draped in the robes of a high priest with the blue eyes white dragon roaring as it circled him protectively. In his hand the rod's great eye glowed and a wave of darkness retreated before them, white lightning crashing into it as his magic swirled around the attack, adding to the massive amount of power the dragon was capable of creating.

As if being driven by another force he stepped up to the table and stopped before it. Ishizu frowned as Marik shared a look with Odion. Reaching down his fingers wrapped around the item and a torrent of memories blasted through him. The ones he tried to lock away at all costs. He hissed in pain at the assault, but didn't let go of it, sensing this was a test of sorts. Bright blue energy danced around him for several moments before dissipating. In his hand the millennium rod vibrated before going still. Oddly, he felt as if he had just been accepted by it, or welcomed. Straightening his shoulders he gripped it hard, asking himself what he had just done even as he spoke. "Clearly you can't be trusted with anything."

"You're acting rashly, Kaiba." Ishizu warned. "The power of any of these items-"

"I won't be lectured by you." He informed her. "Unlike you I'm more than capable of keeping track of my assets." He turned toward the door with every intention of leaving. "If I were you, Yugi, I'd set that puzzle back in the stone and leave this all behind you while you have the chance. The pharaoh won't be here to save you this time."

"And you will?" He called.

"No." He stated as he left. "I won't."

He returned to the main cavern, tucking the object against the small of his back and pulling his shirt down over it. He wanted no questions about it and was utterly unclear as to why he had just done what he had. It wasn't like him at all. He could count on one hand the number of impulsive decisions he'd made in his lifetime, and none of them had even come close to this. He wasn't sure what was going on in his head at all, because he honestly wanted nothing more to do with any of this, and yet here he was stepping full force into all of it yet again, but this time of his own choosing. Shaking his head at his own foolishness he returned to the cavern.

Sarah was back at the spot they had chosen, her hair once again white rather than coated in gritty brown sand, and when she saw him she made a sharp, urgent motion for him to come to her. Walking straight to her he met her as she got to her feet. "Where were you?" She asked with worry in her voice.

"Talking with Marik." He replied.

"These people are lying to us." She told him as she shifted very close to him, much closer than normal convention would dictate. He went stiff, his body reacting to her closeness without his consent, but she didn't notice as she pressed something cool and plastic into his hand. "I don't know what's going on here but we aren't safe no matter what you think you know about these people." He glanced down quickly and saw she had pressed a phone into his hand. "You need to get us out of here. There's something..." She searched for a word, her expression dark. "Wrong about this place."

"Where did you find this?" He asked as he quickly slipped the device into his pocket before anyone could see it.

"That woman had it on her." Sarah informed him, moving back half an inch now that he had it. "I picked her pocket when she was talking to Tea."

"You have an interesting set of skills." He told her, impressed by the second life saving theft she had pulled off.

Sarah ignored his compliment. "It's only a matter of time before she realizes it's gone. There's no reception in here. We need to find a place where there is."

He glanced around, seeing that Bakura and Tristan were now gone. He came up with a plan quickly. "I'll take Mokuba with me to clean up. It won't be hard to slip out and make a call."

She nodded in agreement and glanced toward the area people were being lead to. "They should be back soon." She told him. "Should I make a scene to distract them?"

"No." He told her, interested to know what she might do to accomplish that. "Better they don't suspect we have this at all." Turning his head he spotted his brother still playing with the mutt. "Mokuba!"

His head came up. "Yeah?"

"Finish playing with the dog. We're going to clean up next."

"You jerk!" Joey began to rant. "I'd like to see you beat me at this game!"

"Please." He replied, easily falling back into this normality. "That game is even more simplistic than duel monsters. What kind of challenge do you think you are to me?"

"I almost beat you last time!"

"Not even close." He replied, refusing to let him boast falsely.

"No problem." Mokuba replied as he threw the set of dice. They rolled to a stop and his brother sniggered in delight. "I just won anyway."

"No way!" Joey looked down at the dice and let out a cry of idiotic disappointment, ruffling his hair up in frustration. "That was a lucky roll!"

"Yeah." Mokuba replied cheekily. "Just like all my other rolls and plays in the game."

"Ugg, you get more like your brother everyday. It's heartbreaking."

Mokuba chuckled and got up after setting the dice in a neat pile. Conveniently the other two re-appeared, clean but in dirty clothes like everyone else, and he moved toward the hallway with purpose. Mokuba trotted after him calmly and when one of the robed servants showed them the bathing room and left he shut the old wooden door and waited until his footsteps faded away. "What are you doing?" His brother asked curiously as he kept his ear to the door. Without a word he pulled the phone out of his pocket and shook it a little. Mokuba's expression turned cloudy. "They said there weren't any here."

"They lied." He stated. "Stay here and keep everyone away until I get back. I need to get up to the ruins to get reception."

"No problem. I stall like the best of them."

He nodded in approval, implicitly trusting his brother, and opened the door, looking around. Seeing no one he slipped out and walked back toward the staircase, moving lithely through rooms and hallways he had memorized on the way in. Within minutes he was back at the staircase and went up it quickly, carefully pushing the trap door up after disengaging a simply wire sound alarm he found. Getting out into the fresh air he opened the phone at once and turned it on. After several prolonged seconds of loading it turned on and he smirked in triumph. Acting swiftly he broke through the simplistic security on it and easily found the application to get their exact coordinates once the machine synched up with the nearest satellite. Memorizing it he quickly called the head of his security.

The phone rang only once before Roland picked up. "Yes?"

"It's me."

There was an audible sigh of relief. "Mr. Kaiba, where are you? I found the break in at the mansion. I've been looking for you and the younger Mr. Kaiba for days."

"Egypt." He replied. "I have our coordinates. Do you have something to write them down with?"

"Yes, go ahead." He relayed them and Roland spoke again. "I'll have a plane there in less than six hours."

"Excellent." He replied, pleased by the efficiency. "Make sure it's big enough for a dozen people." He really didn't know why he was so good to the dorks. He really should leave them all here.

"Of course, Mr. Kaiba." He agreed, not questioning why he would need a plane that big. "Forgive the question, but is Miss Drake with you? She also hasn't been to work and isn't answering her door."

His approval of Roland went up yet another notch. It was good to know that someone would help Sarah if he wasn't there. "Yes, she is."

"I'll meet you at the Domino airport when you arrive. Will you be at this number?"

"Until the plane gets here." He replied. "Have another phone on it for me."

"Of course. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No." He answered shortly. "Just get the plane here."

"I will." He assured him. "I'll call you back shortly with the details."

"Send a text." He told him. "The reception here is shoddy at best."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

Satisfied, he hung the phone up and went back inside, knowing that even with them lying about the phone the Ishtar's home was safer than being out here. Being sure to wipe his tracks away he got back to the washroom with no incident. Mokuba was waiting for him, his mass of black hair having lost some of it's fluff from being drenched. "Feeling better?" He asked.

"That depends." Mokuba told him as he lounged against the wall. "Did you get ahold of anyone?"

"A Kaiba Corp plane will be here in six hours." He glanced at his watch and corrected himself. "Five hours and fifty-six minutes."

Mokuba smirked. "Nice."

He grunted an agreement and looked around the primitive washroom. It wasn't much, but at least there were a few tubs filled with water and some sort of whitish grey soap. Thinking he had never wanted to waste time in a shower more he began to undress, being sure to hide his new possession as he did so. Mokuba waited patiently, but he wasn't in the water more than three minutes altogether, not wanting to set off any suspicions about the phone. Not that he was apologetic or afraid of these people, it simple made things less complicated.

Once he was done he slipped his filthy clothes back on, making a face at them, and they both returned to the main room to wait. Nothing of interest happened after that, save Sarah's relief when he told her he had made the call and his plane was on the way. Feeling calm now that he had taken care of their exit strategy he laid down to rest as exhaustion hit him. Mokuba and Sarah weren't far behind and the last thing he thought was that laying in the sand was only going to get them all dirty again.

When he woke up a few hours later, having been able to nap for at least awhile, Sarah was sitting against the wall three feet from him, staring blankly into the shadows with her legs pulled up to her chest. He ran his hand through his hair as he looked around, seeing little with only a few torches now lit, and when he saw she was awake nearby he frowned. "Sarah?"

"I don't like this place." She said quietly, her voice oddly devoid of emotion as her arms tightening around her legs. "How much longer do we need to stay?"

His frown deeped at her detached response. It wasn't like her to be so blank. Glancing down at his watch he made a quick estimate, realizing he had slept much longer than he had planned on. "The plane should be here in the next hour." She nodded briefly before putting her head down, hiding her face in her legs. "Are you sick?" He asked, wondering why she was acting so oddly.

"No." She lied, he could tell when she did that easily now. "I just don't like being trapped underground. I'm fine."

He got up and stepped over, squeezing her shoulder. "Not much longer." He promised. "I'll go get us some water. Will you watch Mokuba?" She nodded into her legs and he squeezed her shoulder again. "You can't watch him with your head down." He pointed out, needing her to start acting like her again. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked up at him. He brushed her hair back out of her eyes, studying her. He didn't like what he saw. Her eyes were haunted, with wisps of unease swirling about. At his back the millennium rod hummed and he knew, without one doubt, that one of the Ishtar's had spoken to her while he slept. Rage rolled through him, rage at their interference, rage that they were trying to involve her, rage at the manipulation. She was to have no part of this, none. No part of this strange and dangerous magic that kept trying to snatch her away from him. It had all taken too much from her already. "Don't listen to these people." He told her, anger in his voice. "We'll be home soon and we can forget about all of this."

Sarah nodded quietly in agreement and he petted her head a bit awkwardly before walking off toward where the stairs were, intent on finding much more than water. He found Marik and Ishizu together, speaking softly. He didn't beat around the bush. "Which one of you was it?" He snarled viciously. They both turned toward him, Marik jumping slightly as he startled him. Ishizu wasn't even remotely surprised, and he saw a gleam of gold on her neck. It appeared she had once again adorned herself with the millennium necklace. He knew in an instant it was her. "What did you say to her?" He demanded, enraged.

The woman was calm, and calculating. "Nothing she shouldn't know."

He made a hard slicing motion with his hand. "How dare you try to bring her into any of this!"

"She is already a part of this." Ishizu stated. "As she has always been. She must be prepared for her part."

"She has no part!" He snapped. "I won't let her get dragged into this."

"You can't fight her destiny." The woman told him cooley.

"Her destiny?" He demanded. "She'll make her own! I'll be sure of that!"

"You delusions of control are remarkable."

His eyes glittered. "Oh, I assure you it's no delusion. We'll all be leaving now. Let's call us even. I admit you've been helpful the last day, although not altogether truthful." He pulled the phone out of his pocket and showed it to them. Ishizu pressed her lips together as Marik raised an eyebrow. "I'll leave this upstairs once we're gone."

"Be careful, Kaiba." Marik warned. "You won't make it long in the desert without us."

"That's hardly a problem with my plane on the way." He turned around. "I'd say it was fun, but what a lie that would be." With that he left, intent on never coming back to this cursed land again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Entrenched Player's Dilemma

Opening her apartment tiredly she wasn't sure if she was glad or terribly upset that Seto had insisted he walk her up. She had never asked him over before despite being the Kaiba mansions most frequent guest because she had always been just a little ashamed of it. Her entire living space was about a quarter of the size of his lower kitchen, and even with the substantial raise he had given her she still hadn't bought anything to decorate with. She was so paranoid she would need the money for necessities like food that she hadn't even shopped for the most inexpensive painting to put up. The few pieces of furniture she had purchased were both small and cheap, as somewhere in her head he felt as if all this good fortune, her stable job, and her friendship with him was all some sort of temporary reprieve from the harsh reality her life had always been. She had been hoarding her paychecks for months, convinced that the good times were bound to end sooner rather than later and she would need every penny to survive. The only thing she had splurged on, the one thing she dared to spend money on had been her wardrobe, and only because she had felt she needed that to keep the very job that was supporting her.

But Seto was being oddly protective, had been since they had been captured in Egypt, and she had seen no way to prevent him from finally getting a good look at where she lived. Too tired and disturbed by events to fight him off she had simply shrugged when he told her he would come up with her. When she turned on the light her heart sank and any hope she had of him simply leaving her to her own devices vanished in an instant. Standing quietly inside the doorway she surveyed the damage as he stood behind her, taking it in over her shoulder. Her home, the small lonely place that it was, had been completely trashed from top to bottom. Everything was knocked over, smashed, broken, or slashed to ribbons. All the things she'd worked so hard for were destroyed. She told herself firmly that it was only stuff, and that she was fine, and so was everyone else. It didn't make her feel all that much better as the remains of her new computer, the one Seto had given her only a few days ago, sat in small bits at her feet.

Moving slowly she went inside, stepping gingerly over the computer components only to end up crunching a small makeup kit that had somehow ended up in the main room rather than the small basket she kept it in on the shelf in her bathroom. Seto followed her inside silently, taking in every detail. Going to her closet she opened it fully, as the door was ajar, and found everything in it had suffered the same fate. Her clothes were ruined, all of them. At a loss she stared at the damage, her spare key dangling from her hand. She didn't even have anything left to change into to get out of her dirty clothes. "You can't stay here." Seto stated flatly as she stood there blankly.

Her eyes swept over her room again. "I don't have anywhere else to go." She shifted her weight as her exhausted mind made plans. There was nothing she could do now except check into a hotel. Everything else would have to be dealt with in the morning. "I can… I can take care of this tomorrow. Everything can be replaced."

"You can't be." He pointed out. "They know where you live and we still don't know who they are. It isn't safe for you here. I shouldn't have let you come back here at all." He turned out of her mangled apartment. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" She asked vaguely.

"To my house. You'll be safe there." He shook his head, anger in his eyes as he no doubt remembered both he and his brother had been taken from that very place. "Safer than anywhere else."

That was really too much to ask of him. "I can get a hotel room if you drop me off on the way. I can't impose on you that way." She told him, wishing she had simply gotten a cab home like everyone else when they landed at the airport rather than letting him usher her into his limo before she could think to protest.

He reached behind her and put his hand on the small of her back, ignoring that as he urged her to the door, and she didn't fight him. She simply didn't have the energy to try at this point. She shut her door and locked it rather unnecessarily before Kaiba whisked her away. She found herself back in the limo in less than thirty seconds and Mokuba's eyes fluttered open. "What's going on?" He slurred, having finally fallen into an actual deep sleep.

"Sarah is staying with us for a few days." He told his brother. "Go back to sleep."

"Okay. Need an explanation about this later." With that he closed his eyes and flopped back down to the seat. The limo started forward, once Roland saw they were all settled again, and Seto stared out the tinted window absently. The head of Kaiba's security detail hadn't asked a single question when his boss came back down with her and she was grateful for that, a little worried she might start to cry if she thought about it too much. Not that Roland ever asked many questions, which was likely why he still had a job, and why Seto approved of him so much. For her part she found the large man pleasant and courteous. She'd had a few nice conversations with him since she moved here, usually while they were waiting for Seto, or when he was dropping Mokuba off for his lessons with her, although none of them had been more than superficial pleasantries. She rather suspected he had a family of some sort, but he never brought it up and she figured if he didn't want to it wasn't her business to inquire about it. But despite his quiet reserve she knew he noticed nearly everything. When he met them at the airport with a car and Seto had ushered both her and Mokuba toward it, dismissing everyone else to get the rest of the way home themselves, his gaze had swiftly flicked from the now fading bruise on Seto's cheek and the seemingly ever darkening one along her neck. Roland, for the first time, appeared angry to her, but maybe she was just imagining it. There was really no reason for him to care if she was hurt or not, other than a professional courtesy.

She couldn't tell what Seto was thinking from the expression on his face as he sat across from her, staring at the passing buildings. Of course, she couldn't really tell what she was thinking herself as she leaned back and tried to focus on staying awake instead of being dirty, disgusting, hungry, and exhausted. The last few hours had been a rather frantic rush back to Japan with Seto on the phone most of the way as he tried to reschedule the merger for late afternoon the following day. As promised a Kaiba Corp plane had arrived less than six hours after Seto managed to get a call out. She wished it had somehow managed to teleport directly to them because the end of their horrid adventure out of the country had ended in a spectacularly disturbing way.

After Seto came back with news that they would be out soon she had relaxed marginally, but she knew something was going on here that no one was saying. The Ishtar's home was inherently creepy, simply because it was so incredibly odd a place to live, but there was something else strange about it. She had felt almost sick since they walked down into the ruins, and not only because she'd had to go down into a cramped and terrifying staircase. She swore up and down the shadows were moving on their own and she felt as if she was being watched by a hundred different eyes. She had tried to convince herself she has sun poisoning or something, or maybe she was just paranoid due to the circumstances, but then she had started catching glimpses of light dancing about where light shouldn't be. It wasn't much, just little glimmers she kept seeing out of the corner of her eye, but no one else appeared to noticed them.

Half convinced she was going crazy she wanted nothing more than to get out of the place as soon as possible. When that woman, Ishizu, had told Seto there was no phone she could sense the lie. Some deep part of her very sure that it wasn't true, that she was trying to bait or trap him here. So when she had been led off to clean up she had checked the other woman's pockets when she wasn't paying attention. She hadn't been remotely surprised to find the phone, only deeply enraged. When she came back Seto was gone, which sent so many alarms off in her that she nearly went searching for him, more than half ready to tear this place down around their heads. Her anxiety had started howling up as a headache settled firmly in her head and the feeling of sickness had increased exponentially. But he had come back, which calmed her until he left with the phone to make the call and she saw that same strange light tingling along his back.

Deeply troubled she had forced herself to calm as she waited. Seto and Mokuba both returned and rejoined her with the elder Kaiba looking smug. Knowing that meant help was coming she held her tongue and settled in to wait. After a time she had fallen into a fitful sleep next to the Kaiba brothers. Not long after she sat up with a start, covered in a cold sweat from the worst nightmare she'd ever had. She had been surrounded by monsters with someone yelling at her in a language she didn't understand, sure disaster was about to strike, and was somehow jolted away at the last moment.

She looked around herself as terror coursed through her, disoriented by the darkness and strange surroundings. For a single moment she was terrified that she hadn't woken up when she saw a carving of a monster right behind her shoulder. Then she heard a soft snore and turned her head, seeing Mokuba sprawled out on the ground nearby. Remembering what had happened in a rush she let out a quiet breath and pushed her tangled hair back out of her face, wishing for a brush. Her hair was a mangled mess, and she knew it would take her hours to get it in order once she had access to grooming equipment. It didn't make her feel better that Mai and Serenity were in the same boat. Beside Mokuba, Seto was sleeping, propped up against the wall. Unable to sit still with the nightmare nipping at her she got up quietly. She thought if she could just walk for a few minutes she would be settled and could lay back down. Being sure not to go far she walked around the large cavern again, hating being trapped inside the earth like this more than she could say. She hated even more she would be forced to go back up that staircase to get out and tried not to think about that. When she was at the edge of the room, or temple, or ruin, or whatever it was, she stopped, looking at the images on the wall.

They made her uneasy, just like everything else about this place. She desperately wanted to go home so she could curl up in her own bed and pretend none of this had ever happened. As she studied an image of what looked like a genie she recalled hearing that duel monsters had been based off a game in ancient Egypt. While that had been a mildly interesting story on the news she had never given it any thought, not until now at least. It was one thing to play a game, it was another to feel surrounded by it.

"My home makes you uneasy." A soft voice said behind her. She jumped, whirling around. Behind her and to the left Ishizu was watching her with calculating eyes. Unnerved by her, and fully distrustful she said nothing, wondering if she had worked out that she had snatched her phone away and was here to confront her about it. "You're a creature of open spaces and bright skies."

"I just… don't like feeling trapped." She replied after a moment as her attention settled on a necklace the other woman was wearing. It hadn't been on her before, and once again she saw the strange lights shimmering, this time around the jewelry.

The woman moved beside her and studied the same images she was as she turned her attention away quickly, not wanting Ishizu to ask her what she was staring at. "Had I not been born here I think I might feel the same. As it is I find comfort here, in the shadows of our past."

She nodded and followed the other woman's gaze. Maybe she didn't know the phone was gone and she should just go along with the conversation. It seemed the safest option for all of them to remain in her good graces while they were here. "What do they say? The markings?"

"Many things." Ishizu told her. "This one we're looking at now tells of a great monster, the jinn, that an ancient and powerful priest trapped and saved a village from."

"How do you trap a jinn?" She asked.

"Magic." She responded simply. "As all the great monsters, save perhaps one, were captured in the ancient world."

She gazed up and up as the writing kept going on into the darkness. "Why was one different?"

"One great dragon was too powerful to capture with magic." Ishizu told her. "And eluded even the greatest of the pharaohs."

It sounded like the start of every ancient hero story she had ever heard. "And then he did something clever and captured it I suppose."

"No." The other woman replied, still studying the wall as if she hadn't lived with it her whole life. "Despite his great power, and his mastery of the Egyptian gods themselves, the pharaoh could never control the dragon." She looked over at her, silently asking her to continue. "When the world was young it was in alignment with another realm, the shadow realm. This caused chaos as monsters and magic destroyed the land, killing hundreds and thousands of people. In Egypt the pharaoh's learned how to capture these creatures with specialized magic that was harnessed in seven mystical objects. These items were controlled by the most powerful people in Egypt, those that were destined and trained to protect their people and their king. Many of the most powerful and crafty monsters resided in humans, possessing them and hiding from this new magic that could contain them should they be found. The great white dragon, which had destroyed countless lives, was different than the rest of them. She was more brutal, and much more clever. Where most of the monsters hid inside humans this great beast somehow learned how to be born as one, protecting herself from the magic. She appeared among the villagers of ancient Egypt, seemingly the same as any of them, save for only one detail. As years passed she grew into a woman, and was persecuted wherever she went because of the way she looked."

"The way she looked?" She asked, confused.

"The great dragon was so powerful that it was said to have painted her human self as white as the clouds it flew through." Ishizu told her. "Sensing her power and suspecting her possession she was ostracized. And yet despite this she managed to control herself, hiding her ferocious nature behind her human mask. One day she was cornered by villagers and unable to escape. They began to stone her, and despite being able to release her soul to protect her mortal form she did not, preferring death to their slaughter. I think it likely she had become far more human than she had ever planned for, because despite her attackers meaning to kill her she showed them great benevolence."

She watched Ishizu, transfixed by the story. "As she was being attacked the greatest of the priests of Egypt happened by. Appalled by her treatment he stopped her from being killed, believing he could help her with the power he wielded, with the power he could control with his millennium item." Ishizu was silent for a moment. "I believe that he fell in love with her in that moment as she lay bleeding and defiant on the side of the road. I believe in her he saw what he wished to be, strong and controlled in the face of death, selfless, and honorable." Ishizu nodded to herself. "He took her back to the city, confident he could pull the dragon from her, claim it as his own, and save her from her burden. He didn't realize that she wasn't possessed as so many others he saved had been, but was in truth the essence of the mythic dragon."

Despite herself she was entranced with the story. "What happened?"

"Disaster." Ishizu said, sounding sad. "Despite his efforts the beast could not be fully separated from the maiden he loved. Even when he managed to tempt her soul from her body, it would return, defying his magic in favor of her human existence, returning to the body it's soul had created. And yet despite his frustration he did not give up, and soon enough she loved him too. For a brief time they were happy, and in all the tales it was said they were soulmates, the first to ever be called that in all of recorded human history. But their happiness did not last. Soon after they became lovers the priest was betrayed by his mentor, a dangerous and power hungry man that desired to have the dragon's great power locked up so it could be used to make the priest the pharaoh. You see his mentor was in fact his father, and had abandoned him in his boyhood in an effort to protect him from the sins he had committed to save Egypt."

"Having discovered their affair he placed the priest in mortal danger, knowing the maiden would do whatever she could to protect him. His betrayal worked and the maiden jumped in front of this danger, saving the priest at the cost of her mortal form. With no body to house her soul the great dragon came forward, enraged beyond reason at the loss of its chosen life. The priest, in his grief, did not stop the monster from destroying his mentor, and all the lesser priests that followed him. When they were dead and the beast turned its feral rage on him the priest offered the maiden up to it, ready, and more than willing, to follow her to the next life. Seeing his devastation over her death, it stopped its attack, finally allowing the priest to capture it as a way to stay with him, although it meant her imprisonment and return to the shadow realm from which she had sought refuge. From that point on only the priest has ever managed to control the white dragon. Only he was ever able to help her cross between the threshold of our world and that of the great shadow beasts." Ishizu was quiet for a moment. "I don't believe that the priest ever truly felt whole again after her death."

"What a horrible story." She said, wishing she had never heard it. "Are there no happy ancient Egyptian stories you could have told me?"

"Perhaps." She agreed. "But there is always hope. I don't believe love like that is ever extinguished."

She was unable to see a bright side to that story herself. "The maiden died and he was left alone for the rest of his life except when he could briefly see her soul. It sounds final to me."

"Like many others that possed millennium items the priest was reincarnated." Ishizu told her.

That was a weird statement. "Reincarnated?" She was familiar with the idea, but had never given it any thought before. Then, she remembered what Kaiba had told her so many months ago when they were passing notes in class. "Like Yugi over there?" She asked, disbelief lacing her voice as she realized this woman held the same delusion as her former classmates.

Ishizu nodded, unfazed and convicted. "Yugi is indeed the host of the great pharaoh. You don't believe in reincarnation."

"No." She told her.

"Egyptians aren't the only one's to hold such beliefs. Throughout history and across cultures this idea has surfaced over and over again."

"I suppose." She agreed hesitantly.

"And even that doesn't sway you? That so many throughout history have believed?"

"No, but I can see you believe it." She told her, looking back at the wall. She had no interest in getting into a religious debate with someone, that didn't mean she didn't want to hear the rest of the story. Despite herself she was curious. "So, did this reincarnated priest ever find his maiden in his next life?" She asked conversationally.

"It appears that he has." Ishizu said. "Although I didn't believe you capable of following him into this life until I saw you with him today."

Frowning, she looked over. "What?" Ishizu turned her head and she followed her gaze, which landed squarely on Kaiba. " _Seto?_ " She said with real disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You think he's reincarnated?" She felt a sudden uncomfortable urge to laugh. "And that I'm his soulmate?"

"I know that he has been reincarnated." Ishizu told her with such conviction that it startled her. "And so does he."

The last person she would ever think would believe in reincarnation was Seto Kaiba. "I think you have him confused for someone else."

"I do not." Ishizu assured her. "Kaiba has seen his past firsthand, although I think he might well die before admitting it. But those that know him, the few that do, have seen the change in him. He was a cruel young man, a fact even he won't dispute for all his pride, because he does have his honor. He has softened since I first met him, since he and the pharaoh reached an understanding the way powerful personalities do when they come to an impass. Even so he could not heal the injury your passing did to him, even five thousand years later. I believe Mokuba was the only reason he didn't fully lose himself in his rage and hatred with such a crippling injury."

This was all way too bizarre for her. "Look, I'm not-"

"What did he do when he first met you?" She interrupted.

Her eyebrows drew together. "When we met?"

"Yes." The woman agreed. "What did he do? Think carefully." Ishizu watched her closely as she thought. She recalled very clearly what he had done. It was branded in her brain. He had stared down at her, as if he were truly shocked to see her there, as if he knew her, as if he had been hopefully waiting for that moment for years. She had dismissed it, thinking perhaps he had known someone that looked liked her, although she knew her coloration was unique, if not unheard of in Japan. She had thought, foolishly perhaps, that he may have found her pretty, but had dismissed that after knowing him for only a few days. And, unforgettably, she had felt as if she knew him as well as she had ever known another person, for all she had never met him. But after that first moment he had treated her the way he treated everyone, at least until they got to know one another.

"He just looked at me." She told her.

"Are you lying to me or yourself?" The woman asked her calmly. "You are his blue eyed maiden, his soulmate, the soul of great white dragon. He knows this. It's why he's keeping you so close. Kaiba does not make friends easily, if at all, and yet the two of you have bonded closely and quickly. Your souls recognize one another despite all the time that has passed. The great blue eyes white dragon, your real self, also recognizes this. I suspect even now the dragon would be able to emerge from you despite Atem's efforts to lock the great monsters of the past away if he was in danger. Seto's dragon obeys him, because you allow it, because it is you, because you are his other half, whether you're consciously aware of it or not." She said nothing, feeling truly unsettled and wondering why, when she didn't believe any of this. The woman watched her for several uncomfortable moments. "I'm not sure we'll see one another again, Kisara." She told her, and the name shimmer inside her head like a crystal catching the light. "But I am honored to have met you. Your story was always my favorite."

With that the woman turned and walked into the shadows, disappearing into the ruins and abandoning her with a hollow pit in her stomach. She had sat in the near darkness for hours as the others slept on peacefully around her, with her emotions in turmoil as she tried to convince herself that Ishizu was after something and trying to scare her with some sort of Egyptian version of a campfire story. When Seto woke up and told her not to believe anything it confirmed that surely she had been right, that the woman was lying to unsettle her, the same way they had lied about the phone. The knots in her stomach had loosened as soon as they got on the plane and she had let the story go completely, until she was shifting in her seat and saw Yugi toward the front of the cabin. The strange pendant he wore around his neck had been glowing with purple light.

Her troubled thoughts were interrupted when Seto spoke, his voice filling the back of the car and dragging her back to the present. "Tomorrow make a list of everything that they broke. I'll have you moved to a safer apartment complex and your things replaced."

There was no way she was going to let him do that. "I have more than enough money to replace everything myself."

"I don't pay you enough to get kidnapped, threatened, and assaulted. Just get me the list." He told her irritably.

"No."

"Sarah-"

She would not take a handout. She was pretty sure they had already come to an understanding about that. "You're not getting a list. If you insist on finding me a different apartment, than fine, I'll let you help me. I won't let you replace everything when I don't need you to."

"You're being stubborn." He told her.

"I'm not going to get into a fight about this again." She informed him stubbornly.

His eye flicked over her and he shrugged. He dismissed her again as he vanished into his own world. Her irritation with Seto being Seto drove all her apprehension about crazy stories and hallucinations away. The farther away from that place they got the more ridiculous and unreal the whole thing seemed. Clearly the stress had gotten to her and driven her temporarily insane. She chose to forgive herself for that and blame it all on dehydration. Ten minutes later and the gates to the Kaiba estate opened and the limo pulled up in front of the mansion. Roland got out and opened the door as Seto reached out and shook his brother awake while she slid out first. She heard Mokuba mutter a word that Seto snapped at him for using and gazed up at the house.

She was glad she'd been here before because in her fatigued state she probably would have said something stupid about it, like that it was rather large overall. As it was she wondered exactly how far from where she was standing to where she could take a shower might be. Hopefully, less than a mile or she was just going to curl up on the floor and sleep. One of his housekeeper could just wake her up in the morning, their opinion about her be damned. When Mokuba stumbled up the main steps she followed with Seto close behind both of them. Kaiba was moving slower than he usually did and she could only assume that he was as exhausted as she was. To be fair she thought he probably slept even less than she had over the last five days. That in itself impressed her since he was still on his feet.

Someone opened the door for them and she nearly jumped out of her skin for no other reason than it surprised her. Of course she should have expected it. Roland had obviously made sure everything and everyone was ready for Mokuba and Seto to get home. Seto had the good grace not to comment on her jumpiness and Mokuba was too tired to notice. Actually, she thought he might be sleep walking. The young teen didn't stop moving as they hit the main floor and stumbled up the stairs toward what she could only assume was his room. She had never gone beyond the first floor and had no idea what the family wing was like. Seto pushed her gently after him and she followed the boy, understanding the silent direction. She did note that the butler, another of Kaiba's staff she liked, was watching them all with worry, as if he was afraid one or all of them were about to keel over.

Seto either didn't notice or didn't care and kept herding her gently forward. Trudging up the steps she paused in confusion when the hallway split three ways. Seto put his hand on her back again and urged her to the left. She staggered that way and his thumb ran in a small, reassuring circles over her filthy shirt, right at the small of her back. Pleasant tingles raced up her spine and her whole body relaxed, her mind quickly following it. She heard a door shut somewhere ahead of them in the darkness as Mokuba went into his room and then Seto was guiding her to another door. He opened it for her and she slid inside. He flipped on the light switch and she blinked as spots danced in her eyes.

When they faded she found herself in a pretty room with a pale yellow theme. Seto's hand fell away from her. "I'll have clothes brought up so you can change after you clean up. The bathroom is attached. We can talk tomorrow after we've both slept." He sighed heavily. "I may have to wake you up early. If the merger doesn't start tomorrow it might fall through."

She understood. "That's fine. I'll have to go get real clothes before we meet. What time did you settle on?"

"Noon."

She nodded tiredly, thinking that realistically she wouldn't be able to sleep more than three or four hours if she had to go get things. Glancing over she saw an alarm clock next to the bed and waved at it vaguely. "I'll just set the alarm for myself. You don't need to worry about me. I'll be sure I'm ready."

"I've never worried about you missing a meeting." He told her as he turned to no doubt go to his own room. "Goodnight, Sarah."

"Goodnight, Seto." She replied. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

He left, making a dismissive sound in the back of his throat, and shut the door behind him. As soon as she heard it close she went to the bathroom. She locked herself in and turned the shower on without further ado and began to strip her soiled clothes off in a rush. She couldn't stand to be in them for another second. She was under the spray before it had a chance to warm up and didn't care. Grabbing soap off the lip of the shower she scrubbed at her dirty skin, wondering if all of the bathrooms in this place were stocked and ready to receive guests at any given moment, or if this was rapidly prepared for her when Roland no doubted texted ahead to let staff know she would also be there.

Twenty minutes later and her skin was pink from the hot water and her hair was its normal color, rather than the nasty brown it had streaked through it from all the dust and sand. She smelled like soap and aloe instead of dirt and sweat. She was much happier all around, feeling like her normal self again. Turning the water off she grabbed one of the towels hanging on a rack and wrapped it around herself, thinking that she should really invest in the amount of fluffiness when she replaced all her things. Clearly, having money had it's benefits. She grabbed a second towel and went at her hair, patting it vigorously to dry it. Feeling herself starting to shut fully down she finished drying off and opened the bathroom cautiously as she clutched the towel to herself, worried someone might be in here. The door was shut but there was a pile of fabric on top the comforter. Going to it she found a soft cotton t-shirt and long plaid pajama bottoms. She assumed these belonged to Seto, as they were much too long for Mokuba, and gave a mental shrug as she tugged the shirt over her head. It fell to her thighs and she simply left the bottoms on the edge of the bed, rather sure they would slip right off her hips no matter if Seto was slim.

Going toward the door she flipped the light off before returning to the bed after setting the alarm. Pulling the blankets back she crawled under them, tugged them over her shoulder, and practically cooed at the softness of the mattress and clean scent of the sheets. Feeling very pampered she drifted off to sleep, and thankfully the only thing that greeted her in her dreams was a welcome and merciful darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: First Mover Advantage

When the alarm went off at six thirty she whimpered pathetically in protest. The horrid beeping clearly didn't care about how she felt and just kept on keeping on. Thinking the sound might wake up either Seto or Mokuba, having only a vague idea where their bedrooms were compared to this one, she reached over and smacked her hand over it. Her burned skin rubbed against the sheets painfully and she cursed quietly as she pushed the bedding off of her. Getting up she stumbled into the bathroom and turned the light on, wondering if she had time to find caffeine before she left the mansion. Judging by the state of her hair and the need for clothes she guessed the answer was no. As she picked up a toothbrush, still wrapped in it's packaging, she noticed that her jeans that she had left balled up on the bathroom floor last night had been picked up, apparently washed, and then folded neatly.

Blinking, she picked them up and saw that her underwear, bra, socks, and shirt, that had also been in the pile were clean as well. Setting them back down she eyed everything as she put toothpaste on the brush and started cleaning her teeth. She didn't even want to speculate what Kaiba payed for that kind of service. She also wondered how heavily she had been sleeping that she hadn't heard any of his housekeepers come through here as they must have at least twice, because generally the smallest of sounds had her up. It had really been the only way to safely survive her uncle, being able to get out of the way before he could remember she was there. Once she got the vile taste of morning breath out she started changing. Unfortunately, her shirt, while clean, was pretty much ruined. It had been scraped, stretched, and torn over the course of the last few days and she didn't think any amount of cleaning would be able to salvage the actual material it was made of. Sighing at the loss she pulled Seto's t-shirt back over her head once she had her bra on and simply tossed the shirt in the trashcan. She'd just need to wear this until she could get something else. And other than being baggy on her it didn't look too bad. Really, it was just plane navy blue and once she tucked it in a little it was, well, kind of okay on her she supposed. And besides she was so bruised and sunburned she doubted anyone would take the time to notice the t-shirt before being appalled.

Turning her attention back to her hair she saw she had also been provided with both a brush and a comb, which had been placed neatly next to the new toothbrush. Picking the comb up she began to work on the ends of her hair, which was knotted beyond reckoning after five days of abuse. After nearly twenty minutes of pulling, picking, and tugging she had made almost no progress and pressed her lips together, frustrated and with a sore scalp. Realizing she honestly did not have time to do this she began to open drawers, looking for any sort of blade as she only saw one solution to this problem. On the third drawer she stumbled upon a straight razor and pulled it out. The thing was old, and looked worn, and she wondered how it had made it past all the newness that was here.

With a heavy sigh of regret she gathered her hair up in one of her hands, trying to estimate how much she would need to keep to pull it up into a bun. That tended to be her updo of choice for work, especially when something big was going on. It was simple and made her look a bit older than she actually was. Figuring that just below her shoulders was about right she flipped the razor open, checked that it was sharp enough for the task, and rolled her shoulders. "It's just hair, Sarah. No big deal." She coached herself. "It grows back." Nodding firmly as she held it tightly she reached back with a quick motion and sliced off over ten inches of her hair before she could lose her nerve about it. Knotted white strands fell to the floor in a heap and she wished them a silent and sincere goodbye. Pulling her now much shorter hair forward she carefully trimmed the ends so it was a straight rather than raggedly curved. Once it was even, or as close as she could get it herself, she set the razor back in the drawer and quickly gathered up the mess of hair she had made. Her remaining locks certainly needed a professional to get it styled properly, but as long as she had it up no one should notice.

Throwing the remains in the trash after her shirt she sighed in regret. She wouldn't call herself vain, but if there was anything she liked about herself it was her hair. While it got her a lot of odd stares she couldn't help but like how unique it was most of the time. It had taken her years to grow it out as far as she had, but she supposed it would always grow back again. Besides, at this point it was the least of her worries. Picking the brush up she had a much easier time getting it under control. In less than five minutes her now shoulder length hair was tangle free and laying down nicely.

Tossing the brush down she quickly pulled on her socks and sneakers, which she noticed had also been wiped free of sand and grime. Leaving the bathroom she saw it was now almost seven-fifteen from the alarm clock and felt a jolt to get a move on. The hair situation had really taken more time than she had initially allocated herself. Opening the door to the bedroom quietly she stepped out and looked around. The place was dark and quiet, and she could only assume everyone was still sleeping and none of the staff were here yet. Shrugging, as all she needed was a phone and she knew where one was, she went back the way she had been taken yesterday and easily found the stairs.

Trotting down them quickly she was about to head to the kitchen to call a cab when Seto's head butler came around the corner and spotted her. She had only had a few interactions with Mr. Ando, who really managed everyone that worked here more than anything. She was starting to believe that his motto had to be neither seen nor heard, but it was only a guess on her part. He was an older man in his sixties with steel grey hair and a calm but stern disposition. "Miss Drake?" He asked. "Can I help you?"

She skidded to a halt, halfway through the doorway that would take her to the kitchen. She backed up so she could see him, feeling nervous, as if she had done something wrong when she clearly hadn't. Maybe it was just that she always felt awkward unless she was with one of the Kaiba's when she was here. Certainly the way they lived was nothing like she had ever experienced, and no matter how often she was here she couldn't seem to get used to it when she was left on her own for a few minutes. Then again maybe it was because she had stayed here last night, and no matter how innocent it was, and the staff surely knew she was in a spare room as they had cleaned all her clothes, she knew what it must look like. "No, thank you. I was just going to use the phone to call myself a cab."

"I had your car brought over last night." He told her with absolutely no judgement at all. "Would you like your keys?"

She blinked, startled, as she had assumed her car had also been demolished like everything else. "My car is okay?" She asked hopefully.

He sent her an odd look, as if he wasn't sure what kind of question that was. "Yes, Miss Drake."

She smiled at him happily. "Yes, please." She agreed. "Thank you!"

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a set of keys. They were the spare ones she had left here a few months ago, figuring she was here more than anywhere else and if she somehow lost one or got locked out she could come get them here. She took them, feeling a lot better. Her car was certainly the most expensive thing she owned and if she didn't need to replace it her estimation on how much those thugs had cost her was much lower than she originally thought. Mr. Ando then pulled something else out of his pocket. "Mr. Kaiba said you would need this as well."

When she spotted a credit card with Kaiba's name on it in his hand her whole demeanor went from bright to dark in an instant. Seto appeared set to pay for her things, and if talking about it wasn't going to work he would just shove it on her. He was far too used to getting his way, the bully. "I don't, which I'm sure I made perfectly clear."

Something very much like approval flashed in the man's eyes and he tucked the credit card away. "Of course, Mrs. Drake."

She tried to push past the awkwardness of that entire interaction, fully blaming Seto for it. "Well, thank you for the keys, and for cleaning all my things, that was really nice. I need to go-"

"Mr. Kaiba was very insistent that you not leave until Mr. Nakahara arrives." He told her. "He said he would accompany you this morning."

There was no way she had time to wait for Roland if she was going to get everything done she needed to. That, and she didn't feel she needed a babysitter even after she had been snatched. "Unless he wants me to show up to this merger in his t-shirt that's not going to happen." She told him even as she knew it would get this poor man a waspish reaction from Seto at best. "Tell him I stubbornly refused, or leapt out a window, or hit you over the head to escape with a decorative vase, or something. There are decorative vases somewhere in here right?"

The butler's stern mask cracked for a split second and his lips curled up. "He won't be at all pleased."

"Be sure when he mentions that in his oh so subtle way to hand him that credit card and tell him the feeling is mutual."

The butler cleared his throat, and she thought he was covering up a chuckle. "Very well. Have a pleasant day, Miss Drake."

"You can really call me Sarah." She assured him, thinking pleasant wasn't the word she would use to describe what was about to go on in her day even at her most optimistic. "And thank you. I hope you do too."

He managed to hold the door open for her before she could escape herself and she went down the front steps at a near jog, spotting her car down the driveway. Going to it she jumped in and headed out, intent on getting her life back in order to at least the barest extent. After several hours and a stop at her bank to get a new debit and credit card, a drug store that carried her brand of makeup and hair ties, a department store to pick up replacements for all her clothing basics, and a cell phone store to replace her phone, she was quickly approaching ten in the morning and still needed work clothes. As the boutiques she went to didn't open until ten she figured she was making good time, but would really need to grab some things quickly.

Parking outside her favorite of the stores she got out of her car and quick stepped to the front door, noting it was five minutes until they opened. Wondering if she had spent enough money here in the past to warrant early entry based on an emergency situation she peered through the prettily made glass door and tapped on it, hoping a sales person was already here. No one heard her, or they were ignoring the tapping, and she rocked back on her heels with a sigh. Figuring she was going to have to wait like everyone else she turned and was surprised to see Mia Valentine getting out of a car right behind where she had parked. Mia seemed equally surprised that she was here.

"Sarah?" She asked as she shut the door of her convertible. "What are you doing here? And what on earth happened to your hair?"

Thrown, she answered. "I couldn't get out the tangles so I cut it off."

"Wow." Mia said as she came over, looking at the cut critically. "You aren't the type to do things by halves are you?"

"Not really." She supposed that wasn't an assessment she could disagree with having changed her identity, run from foster care, and illegally immigrated to this country.

"You missed a couple of pieces." She told her, not nitpicking, just letting her know.

"I know, but I can't see them and I don't have time to get to a salon. I'm just going to put it up." Mia hummed as she pulled a set of keys out of her purse and proceeded to open the door to the boutique. Hope rose in her chest. While she wasn't close with Mia they had gotten along over the last few days. She was sure the other woman would help her. "You work here?"

"Oh, hon, I employee the people that work here." She said with a confident smile and a sassy wink.

"This is your shop?" She asked, really impressed. "You have the best clothes in Domino. I come here all the time."

"I knew I liked you." She told her with a smile as she pushed the door open. "Come on in." She followed the other woman inside and Mia set her bag down on a counter as she questioned her. "Do you need anything in particular or are you just browsing?"

"I have to be at my job in an hour and my neck looks awful. I was hoping you had a scarf or something… And also pretty much everything else it would take to make an outfit. I had a wardrobe malfunction to put it mildly."

"I'm sure we can muddle through." Mia cocked her head to the side, studying her. "Whose shirt is that then? Did you crash with your boyfriend last night?"

"Erm." She was thrown badly by the question and irritated that Mia noticed it wasn't at all her size. "Yes?" It came out as a question, not because she was confused by her relationship with Kaiba, but because she wasn't sure if she was still under a confidentiality thing with him about where she worked and wasn't supposed to tell Mia even if they were done with school. Certainly a fake boyfriend would cover her bases, if she could have lied convincingly that is.

Mia raised an eyebrow seeing it was a fib without any trouble. " _Really?_ "

She didn't have time for this either and threw her arms up, her frustration spilling over at last, the multitude of frantic errands after her life was smashed to pieces breaking her. "Look, I don't have a boyfriend. I stayed at Seto's place last night because those thugs destroyed literally everything I own but my car, including all my clothes. He let me sleep in this and the shirt I was wearing the last week is ripped so I'm still wearing it since it's all there was. I have less than an hour to get to Kaiba Corp dressed for a merger that Seto has been trying to set up for over two months, I had to cut off all my hair because I didn't have time to deal with it and still get everything I needed for this meeting, I only got to sleep for three hours, and I still haven't had any caffeine. So for the love of god, do you have a scarf?"

Mia stared at her for a moment as she stood there panting slightly and knowing that little outburst had made her look like a raving lunatic. "Feel better?" She asked.

"Not really." She muttered sullenly.

"Come on, hon." She said, putting her hand on her arm and guiding her to the nearest rack of clothing. "I have just the thing to hide that bruise." She relaxed slightly and allowed the woman to assist her, really thankful despite her emotional display. Mia began pulling things from racks without even having to look at the sizes and handed some of them back to her as they went, talking as she did. "So you work for Kaiba?"

"Yeah." She agreed, figuring lying was just stupid at this point as she had spilled pretty much everything. "I'm his translator."

"That sounds awful." Mia replied.

"I like it most of the time." She assured her as she took in a pretty tweed pencil skirt she had been handed. "Except when I'm stuck in my office for days on end by myself, but that doesn't really happen too often."

"I meant the working for for Kaiba part." Mia told her as she got to the back of the store and pulled a curtain of the dressing room open for her.

She shrugged, thinking she had never had a problem with any of his expectations or demands, at least after the initial hiccup. "I don't know why everyone thinks that. Seto's a decent boss, honestly. As long as you do your job he's really reasonable."

"Uh huh." Mia said knowingly, which had her rolling her eyes at that implication that she was likely an exception to the rule. "Try that grey one on first. I'll go make some tea to help perk you up."

Her internal grumbling about not being treated any differently petered off when she saw what the 'grey one' was. Mia had handed her a dove colored turtleneck sweater that was made of what she was sure was cashmere. When she checked the tag she saw she was right and couldn't stop herself from petting the fabric. It was deliciously soft and when she pulled it on she was pleased to see it fit her perfectly and the fabric was so smooth it didn't even hurt her charred skin. She was also relieved that it was certainly made well enough for her to wear to this meeting and it would cover the bruise as it just brushed her chin. Looking at the clothes Mia had hung up in there with her she quickly selected the blue tweed pencil skirt that had a matching suit jacket with it. They also fit well and she let out a sigh of relief. As long as there were shoes here she would be set.

Pulling the curtain aside she stepped out in bare feet and moved a few feet over to the mirror to check it from all angles. As she was craning her neck around to see the back Mia came back in with a cup of tea and handed it to her. "Thank you." She said, sending the other woman an apologetic look. "Sorry about the ranting thing. I've had a rough kind of morning."

"Don't worry about it." Mia told her, reaching down and flicking the skirt slightly so it sat just right. "This fits you well." She eyed her up and down, assessing her. "You're certainly built on the sleek side. There's a few lines I buy from that would suit you beautifully."

That was helpful. "Do you have shoes?"

"What kind of shop would this be without shoes?" Mia asked with mock outrage. She laughed as Mia went toward a different corner and sipped at the tea as she rummaged around. "What size?"

"Twenty two and a half." She replied, having been initially baffled by the sizing system here. It had never occurred to her until she moved that there were other ways to measure feet, as silly as that had been.

"These should work with that ensemble." She came back over and handed her a pair of grey pumps. She slipped them on after setting the tea down and was satisfied. "I would think even for a merger at Kaiba Corp this will do."

"Thanks a lot, Mia, I mean it. You're a total lifesaver."

"You stay there for a second." The woman instructed as she went into the dressing room and grabbed Seto's shirt. Wrapping it around her shoulders she reached into a shelf near the dressing room and pulled out a pair of fabric scissors. "Let me clean your hair up. Do you want it flat like this, layered, or with bangs?"

This was an unexpected miracle. "Layers if you can keep them long enough to go up."

"I have skills, hon." Mia assured her as she began to quickly snip small strands of hair. In less than ten minutes the woman had fixed the ends and artfully framed her face. She had to admit she was impressed as Mia swiped the t-shirt off, gathering all the hair she got with it so it wouldn't fall on the suite. "Done."

"I owe you dinner for sure. Seriously, anywhere you want." She said adamantly, finding that she really liked this shoulder length look. She hadn't expected that, but it was a refreshing change from years of long hair even if she would grow it back out.

"Sounds good." Mia agreed. "Want me to pick some more stuff out for you? I can hold it and you can get it whenever you have time, or I can send it to Kaiba's if you know the address."

"That would be great." She agreed, knowing she likely wouldn't have time to come back tonight and she would still need clothes tomorrow. "I need stuff I can wear to work. Nothing else matters as much as that."

"I'll take care of it." Mia assured her. "I have all your sizes. Have you had things altered here before?"

"Yes."

"Then we have your measurements on file too."

Feeling better she paid for what she was wearing and Mia bagged a few other things she hadn't tried on and put her jeans, sneakers, and the t-shirt in another bag after shaking the hair off of it. She scribbled down the address for the mansion and took the bags, thanking her again as she rushed out. She got to the parking garage at ten minutes to eleven and punched her code in. Parking quickly she pulled out a hair tie and brush and yanked her hair up into a bun, using her rearview mirror to do it. She opened the bag full of makeup and went after her face, but she could only do so much with being as badly sunburned as she was. Knowing there was nothing to do about it she pushed everything down to the floor to make it less visible and got out, locking the car behind her. Not that she really thought anyone was going to bother her stuff in the secured Kaiba Corp garage.

Holding her phone and keys in her hands, because of course she forgot to grab a purse at Mia's shop, she headed to the elevator. It took her only a second to realize that she didn't have her security card, mostly because it was likely destroyed in her apartment somewhere. "Crap!" She snapped at no one in English. Turning on her heel she quick walked back out of the garage and to the front of the building.

By the time she got there it was five past eleven and all hope of having a full hour to get her things together before the merger vanished. The security guard at the front desk looked nearly as young as her and clearly had no idea who she was when she told him and requested to be let in. Following protocol he asked for her identification, which of course she also didn't have. Then he asked her politely to leave and she narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Lifting the phone up she dialed Seto, who's number she had memorized months ago, and waited for him to answer, tapping her foot.

"Who is this?" He demanded grumpily. "And how did you get this number?"

"It's Sarah." She told him. "I had to get a new phone number when I got a new phone for some reason. I don't understand phone contracts in this country at all. Can you please call down to the security desk and tell them to let me in? I don't have my security card or ID. They think I'm trying to cause mischief."

"That wouldn't have happened if you waited for Roland this morning." He informed her tartly.

She rolled her eyes. "Would you just let me in?"

"You could have been kidnapped again." He scolded her, and ignored the very reasonable request. "And I wouldn't have been there to help you this time."

"As I recall I was the one that got us all out." She threw back. "More than one time come to think of it. Now stop trying to ineffectively punish me because I wouldn't do what you wanted and let me up so I can translate this stupid thing for you."

The phone clicked off and she huffed down at it, as if he could hear her. The security guard open his mouth to say something, likely to tell her to leave again, when his phone rang. The man picked up the reciever and she wondered what Seto said to him because he paled visibly. He stuttered an agreement and waved her through frantically as he apologized profusely into the phone. Shaking her head at the whole situation he went to the nearest elevator, braced herself, and walked in.

Late that night she was sitting at the table in the lower kitchen with her forehead on one hand as she scrolled through her phone, looking for apartments. She was tired, but felt as if the day had gone fairly well even if she had no former experience with a merger. Still, nothing they had gone over today had seemed unreasonable to her. The sticking point for the other company appeared to be keeping as many of the people on their workforce as they could when the two companies merged. Seto didn't appear completely opposed to it, but clearly intended to replace some of the employees with his own, which also didn't sound unreasonable to her. He and the head of this other company had been negotiating the point for over two hours before they agreed to break for the evening in what she felt was mutually respectful way. She could tell Seto approved of the other man and the way he ran his business, and for him that went a long way. By that point it had been almost nine and she was grateful for the break.

After she got back to the mansion she had been told by Mr. Ando that the clothes Mia had promised had been delivered and placed in her room and that there was food waiting for her. Feeling like she was on some sort of odd vacation with no chores to do or meals to make she had gone upstairs to look through what Mia had sent her and change clothes. She had been more than impressed with the other woman, and her guesses at what she would like. Once she was done inspecting she had changed into a pair of shorts and a plain women's t-shirt she had bought early in the morning. Letting her hair down out of the tight bun had her scalp tingling as she ran her hands over it and walked back downstairs.

When she walked into the kitchen, and why they never ate in the large dining room she never asked, it was clear Mokuba had already had his own meal, likely hours ago. Seto was putting some sort of noodle dish on his plate as she sat down. Mokuba took her in. "I like your hair."

"Thanks." She told him as she reached for her glass of water and Seto's eyes came up to see what his brother was referring to.

He frowned and she could tell he hated it instantly. She hadn't been wrong about anyone noticing if it was in an updo, but now that it was down the change was obvious even to the most oblivious person. All her optimistic feelings about the change blew away at once at his expression and she hated that his opinion on her hair would mean so much, because it shouldn't. "You couldn't wait for Roland because you had to get a haircut?" He asked crossly, as if her vanity could have been her downfall.

"No, I cut it off before I left." She informed him tiredly, thinking he really needed to let that go since she wasn't about to become a less independent person. "I couldn't get the tangles out of it."

Mokuba smiled at her some more after sending his brother a warning look she was sure he thought she didn't see. "Don't listen to him. It looks nice, really it does."

"Thanks, Mokuba." She replied quietly as she sat back and began picking at her meal. She changed the subject. "Thanks for letting me stay here again tonight. It shouldn't take me long to find another place."

Seto noted he had ered where her hair was concerned and was trying to backpedal, something she had never seen him do before. "I'll help you once the merger is over." He told her, his voice back to normal. "Don't worry about it until then. There's plenty of room here."

"Alright." She agreed. "I should really go back over and clean up when we're done tomorrow."

"Sarah, there's no hurry." Seto assured her as he began to eat. "This is going remarkably smoothly. I don't anticipate we'll be negotiating more than another two days at the most." Kaiba turned his attention away from work and to his brother's upcoming Kendo match. She had been at the table since then, both of them having gone elsewhere for different reasons, and she was researching where she should try to rent.

She had found a few possibilities, and a lot of places there was no way she was getting near, when Seto came back and found her. Walking over he sat down in the chair next to her and gently took the phone away. "It's almost midnight. You need to sleep."

"I have too much to do." She told him.

"All you need to do is relax." He informed her. "Why are you so worried about finding an apartment today? I told you I would help you. You can stay here as long as you need to."

"I can't impose on you like this." She told him, feeling uncomfortable about it. "It's too much to ask."

"If it had been the other way around you wouldn't have hesitated to let us stay with you." He pointed out.

Her lips curled up in a wiry smile, trying to image all three of them living in her miniscule apartment. "Wouldn't that have been cozy?"

"Why's it different with you here instead of us there?" He asked, knowing what he said had been true.

"I don't know." She hedged.

"You do, but you aren't saying it." He replied, and she was both impressed and annoyed by his insight and bluntness.

She sighed and scratched at the table with her nail absently, her feeling of discomfort increasing. "I know you're being good to me, and helping, but every time I've had to stay with someone before I would always get hurt. Every time since my parents died." Her shoulders hunched up unconsciously. "And I know you would never hurt me. I know you're my friend. It's just hard to move past I guess."

"I understand." He said seriously.

Her eyes came back up to his. "You do?"

He struggled with something for a moment before speaking. "My stepfather, the man that adopted us, was like your uncle." Shock rippled through her. Mokuba had told her he hadn't liked him, Gozaburo she remembered he called him, but she had never imagined that Seto's childhood had been like hers, not growing up in a place like this, with everything he could ever want or need. When he saw she understood what he was saying he went on. "As much as I try what he did won't ever let me go, not completely. So I do understand."

A sick feeling rose in her stomach. "Was Mokuba-"

"No, never." He said at once. "I made sure I kept Gozaburo's attention." His face stormy. "I always made sure I had his attention."

She said nothing, unsure if words were necessary now. A lot about him made sense to her now. His anger, his isolation, his impatience with people, and his refusal to be intimidated or told what to do or to think. Like her he had fully experienced what it was like to be under someone's thumb, and like her he had refused to let it happen again. It also explained why he and Mokuba were so close, even for brothers that had no parents and only each other to cling to. The discomfort she had been feeling staying here faded away at his admission. After a few moments she broke the silence. "People really suck don't they?"

"Some of them." He agreed quietly as he reached out and began playing with the ends of her hair. "I've found I can put up with a few here and there if forced into it."

Her eyes danced at that, the humor pushing the discomfort of the subject away. "Like if one is the only good translator within two thousand miles?"

"You're not _that_ good." He told her and she laughed softly, thinking he was lucky she got his sense of humor. His fingertips brushed one of the strands of hair that framed her face behind her ear. "This suites you."

"You hate it." She replied.

"No." He disagreed. "I was just used to seeing you with long hair. I like this too. It's more… modern." She wasn't sure how modern it was. Women had their hair this length for at least a few decades, but she'd let him think what he wanted. Besides, she was badly distracted by him playing with it.

"Did Mokuba tell you to say that?" She asked strongly suspecting Seto had gotten berated about that when they were out of earshot.

"I am fully capable of complimenting you without his help." He informed her haughtily.

"Of course you are, Seto." She said, laughter in her voice.

He rolled his eyes and got up, his hand falling away. "I'm going to bed, you should as well. I need you to be alert tomorrow."

"Yes, boss." She teased, picking her phone up and slipping it in her pocket. "I'll be sure to get my mandatory Kaiba Corp employee eight hours of rest so I'm at my most efficient on the morrow."

"For the love of god, go to sleep." He ordered.

Snickering, she walked toward the family wing with him and he veered off briefly to get something out of his office before going up the stairs after her. She kept heading toward the room she was staying in, having no intention of going anywhere else, until she passed a partially open doorway and saw a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Recognizing the odd glow from the desert ruins she jerked to a halt and saw an odd sort of staff sitting on top of a dresser. Something, some wisp of a memory tugged at her and she reached out and pushed the door fully open, pausing at the threshold as she stared at the strange item. The object was clearly old, if not ancient, and at the end of a narrow gold bar sat a golden orb with two flared wings coming off the sides. Emblazoned in the center of the orb was a depiction of an all seeing eye. As she stared at it, trying to work out why something so strange looked familiar, blueish black light shimmered around it, seeming to get brighter the more attention she was paying to it, which didn't make any sense at all. As her trepidation grew the eye in the center began to glow gold and the shadows around her feet began to rise up and claw at her, trying to drag her closer.

Letting out a strangled shriek she stumbled backward, her feet catching on the thick carpet. She fell, her back hitting the wall behind her. The shadows oozed out of the room after her, trying, she was somehow sure, to pull her back into the room. Terror raced through her and despite her total confusion she snarled at the shadows on instinct, willing them away from her with all her might. A halo of pure white light blazed around her and pulsated outward, filling every crook and crevice as it went. Inside her head she heard a roar of primal rage as she shadows were burned away, driven back by the bizarre radiance that came from seemingly nowhere. In the room there was a corresponding flash of gold from the rod and then she heard a door slam open distantly as every electrical item in the house began to beep, blare, and screech.

Overhead the mansion's lights were flickering erratically and she saw that from under every single door along the hall that the lights in them had come on as well. She threw her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise of the mansion's alarm system which was screeching loudly overhead. Shakily she got to her feet, feeling drained. When she straightened she saw that from the large window at the end of the hallway that outside in the large garden at the back of the house that all the lights that were placed along the paths, the hanging lamps used for decorations, and all the outside lights attached to the large building were also flashing on and off in no particular pattern.

Two doors down Mokuba stuck his head out of his room, his hair even more wild than usual from where he had been sleeping on it, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. "What's going on?" He yelled over the noise as Seto appeared at the other end of the hall, his eyes landing squarely on her.

She edged quickly away from the room where the item was, seeing a bed in it and working out it was another bedroom, her hands still over her ears. Seto moved to a panel on the wall and began hitting buttons quickly. She saw a shower of sparks spit out of it and he cursed, yanking his hand away from it before ripping the screen off of it and grabbing two wires. Wrenching them out of the wall had the alarm dying with a final choking blare and silence descended, save for the sound of several alarm clocks, a distant car alarm, and a radio from Mokuba's room.

As she moved into the spare room to turn off the alarm there the radio died down to nothing and Mr. Ando and several housekeepers also appeared at the top of the stairway. Not bothering to try to turn the machine off she just yanked the cord out of the wall and tried to push her confused terror back as she went back out into the hall.

"-electrical surge in the security system." Seto was telling his staff. "Call the police and tell them everything is fine before they show up. I'll figure out what it was tomorrow. Until then unplug anything making noise."

The staff dispersed to follow his orders as she and Mokuba helped them, moving from room to room and quickly unplugging things in this section of the house. When she finished the fifth room and came out, feeling sick again, Mokuba was standing by the panel as Seto was coming out of the room where that thing was, pulling the door closed firmly, his face expressionless. Overhead the lights were still flashing as Mokuba frowned at the thing. "Seto, this looks like something from outside fried it, not like it surged. And it's on a completely different system than the rest of the mansion. Even if it was a powersurge it shouldn't have done anything to the lights, or anything else in here." She said nothing, having the strangest feeling that the blast of white light had somehow been her doing, although it made no sense at all. "You think it could have been an EMP?" Mokuba suggested, sounding very intrigued. "I don't know what else could have done this, although if it was an EMP it should have knocked out everything, not made it go haywire. Do you have an experiment in the basement I don't know about?"

"No." Seto told him as he moved to a light switch and turn it off. The lights flicked out in the hallway and then he turned them back on. She noted they had stopped flashing and so did Seto. "Are you both alright?"

"Yeah, ni-san." Mokuba agreed, his attention still on the wiring.

Seto was staring at her intently. "Sarah?"

"I'm fine." She told him, lying badly.

"Did you see anything strange before that happened?"

"No." She kept lying. "I was just going to lay down."

Navy eyes were locked on her face and she kept hers blank, having no way to explain any of that. And even if she could it would sound insane, hell, she felt insane even considering it had happened. "Super weird." Mokuba said. "Maybe-"

Seto cut him off. "You can hypothesize tomorrow." He instructed. "And tear the house apart if you want, but you have school in a few hours. Go back to bed."

"Fiiiine." Mokuba drawled out. "But I'm not forgetting you said I could tear the house apart. "Night, guys."

She mumbled a farewell and went toward her own room as if this had been nothing more than a freak occurrence. Slipping inside she avoided all further eye contact with Seto and all but leapt onto the top of the bed. Keeping the lights on she leaned over, keeping her stomach squarely on the mattress, and peeked under her bed. There was nothing there, no dangerously alive shadows, and she proceeded to check the rest of her room like a crazy person. Finally satisfied that she was alone she crawled back onto the bed and very reluctantly reached over and turned off the lights. The room fell into a normal, safe sort of darkness, which brought her no comfort at all. Laying down edgily she pulled a pillow to her chest and hugged it hard as a picture of that ancient rod blazed in her head.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Fine Print

As he waited for his private jet to take off impatiently he looked out the window of the runway, wanting nothing more than to get home and wondering what the holdup was as they had been scheduled to take off fifteen minutes ago. Almost immediately after the merger went through he'd had to go take care of an entirely different problem in Northern Japan. At least Sarah had been amenable to staying with his brother while he was gone, not that she had anywhere else to go at the moment, and of course she had already said she would. It wasn't like her to go back on her word no matter what the circumstances. At least with this now taken care of he saw no reason to have to leave Domino again in the foreseeable future, which was just as well because he had been as close to sick with worry as he was capable of leaving both Sarah and Mokuba there without him. They weren't safe, both in danger in different ways, and he was rightfully afraid that something would happen when he was gone. It hardly helped that Sarah simply went ahead and did what she wanted regardless and Mokuba was still chafing at the restrictions he put in place to keep him out of harm's way. Really, it could be exhausting, but he preferred to be there than leaving them to their own devices entirely.

Tapping his fingers he glanced over at the seat next to him, where his briefcase was sitting, being sure the major source of his worry was where it was supposed to be. After the incident at the mansion he had refused to leave the millennium rod out of his reach. He had left the object in a safe in his bedroom, assuming that until he could get a more secure location set up that it would be perfectly fine. Instead the damnable thing had betrayed him, somehow ending up on top of his dresser where it could easily be spotted, and of course it had been. He was sure somehow the thing had planned it, although he wasn't clear on how that was possible, not that any of it should have been possible at all.

He felt as if everything was working against him and the very sincere promise he had made to allow Sarah the life she wanted, the peaceful one she deserved to have, the one she had more than earned in her last life. He had known the moment something started happening that night. He had felt an odd tingle down his spine, the same one he had when he had first picked up the millennium rod in the ruins, and not two seconds later white light had flashed, filling his office in blinding radiance and causing his hair to stand up on its ends. He had hurled himself out of his office, having no idea what had set Sarah off and sure that the dragon had escaped her tentative hold on it.

As he raced up the stairs every item that ran on any sort of electrical current began to go haywire as the dragon's lightning overpowered any and all safeguards used to monitor powerflow. Instead of finding an enraged blue eyes in his hallway, which he was honestly expecting, he instead found Sarah standing against the hallway wall across from his bedroom with her hands over her ears to block out the cacophony of noise, and Mokuba looking about with sleepy confusion. Sarah, who was staring into his room with an expression of dumbfounded fear, skittered away from the doorway as soon as she caught sight of him. When he asked what had happened he wasn't expecting a straight answer, and he certainly didn't get one. Sarah had lied through her teeth about not seeing anything, it was written all of her face, and her troubled blue eyes would hardly meet his.

After she retreated to her bedroom and Mokuba was back asleep he had gone back downstairs to try to prevent any further damage to his home. His night staff was moving about the house frantically trying to get all the lights to work properly and he had eventually gone into the main circuit board and reset everything manually himself, replacing over three-quarters of the fuses that had been completely burned out. He had been surprised there wasn't more damage. And even so, the next few hours lights had switched on and off by themselves, mostly in the family wing, as if reacting to something he couldn't turn off. He would be lying if he said he didn't know what, or more precisely who, that person was.

When he finally got back to his own room he had shut the door quietly and opened his top dresser drawer, where he had shoved the millennium rod when Mokuba and Sarah were turning things off in other rooms. He scowled at it as he snatched it up, fully sure that this had everything to do with it. "Look, you hunk of magical junk, try something like that again and so help me I'll throw you in a pit of hot lava and watch you melt with great joy!" The eye gleamed gold and he saw an image of his blue eyes standing beside him in the desert, her wings spread out protectively overhead to block the blazing sun from hitting him as she watched for danger. He wasn't impressed by the message, which was a clear indication that the item wanted his dragon back by his side in the most literal way possible. "I'll decide what to do with her, not you!" He hissed down at it, realizing how crazy it was he was having a conversation with this stupid thing. "I'm not the fanatically loyal priest you remember, so get it through whatever brain you have that I'm in charge, not you! Now what the hell did you just do?"

The item did nothing and he glared at it. Realizing he had no real way to force it into an answer he set it on the table next to his bed and went to sleep after vehemently warning the damn thing to stay where he put it. The next day everything seemed to be back to normal, save for Sarah's subtly cagey behavior at breakfast. Certain she had seen some sort of manifestation of magic didn't mean he was going to confirm it. He had decided to pretend everything was as it should be and that had just been some sort of electrical failure. He was sure given a few days she would forget the incident and move on, or convince herself it had never happened the way he had done for years. By the end of the day, with the merger all but agreed on, she appeared her normal self again. She was back to her cheerful state and chattering animatedly to him about wanting to watch Mokuba's kendo match the following week while they gathered up their things in the conference room.

Nothing else had happened in the five days since and he had turned his attention to another pressing matter in his free time between firing incompetent people and restructuring his manufacturing plant. He estimated he had about eight days at the most from the time Sarah found her apartment destroyed and the time she decided she had been at the mansion long enough and moved out on her own with or without his help finding a place to live. If she hadn't been there watching Mokuba he suspected he would have even less time, but it was an unexpected boon. Despite her assurance that she knew he was being kind, and a very firm belief that he would never hurt her, which he was satisfied to hear, he recognized the need she had to be in her own space. It gave her control over her life and her own personal comfort zone, and he did indeed understand that even if he would much prefer her at the mansion on a permanent basis. He also understood on a much more professional level what it would look like if she stayed longer than she already had. Not that he had told anyone, but given enough time it was bound to get out from either someone on his household staff or security detail. The tabloids paid a hefty fee for stories on him, and he was sure having a young woman living with him would be a great prize for a motivated individual. Eventually someone would risk it and take the money. The last thing he wanted after she had proved herself to be a competent and exemplary employee was to look like she was sleeping her way into his good graces. It would completely ruin her reputation, not only at Kaiba Corp but anywhere she might go, and he didn't want that to happen to her.

So after a negotiation with her that was easily ten times more difficult that the merger, as she was as blatantly stubborn as him when she got something in her head, he had managed to get her to agree to let him look at apartments with her as long as he was clear she could veto his choice for any reason she desired. He had rolled his eyes at the stipulation, but after nearly three hours arguing about how she didn't need his help at all he had forced himself to let it go. After another hour he had nailed down what he thought a realistic budget for said apartment was because Sarah wasn't at all interested in letting him know how she spent the money she earned. The reason for that, he had finally worked out, was that she was spending almost nothing on rent, or really anything. When he had asked her why she had obstinately refused to discuss it and it had taken him another two hours to pry that information from her.

Sarah had eventually informed him that she wasn't about to spend money on anything frivolous, as if a place to live was somehow financially irresponsible, when she could be saving her money. When he asked her what she was saving for, agreeing that investments were always a good idea, her only answer was 'an emergency'. At that point he had a terrible headache, but was so invested in the thing that he couldn't back out. It hardly helped that Mokuba kept purposefully drifting by whatever room they were bickering in and sending him the most devilishly delighted looks. He knew what his brother was thinking, he was thinking it was about time someone gave him a hard time about something. He was sure Mokuba was only more satisfied because it was Sarah and his brother knew very well his unspoken affection for her was stopping him from completely losing his temper at her refusal to do what he wanted.

 _Finally_ , after nearly six hours of debating over two days, he had managed to convince her what a reasonable range for rent was a month with what she was making, although it had been as pleasant as pulling teeth to get her to agree with him about it. He was also seriously considering adding negotiator to her list of responsibilities because that had nearly killed him. There was no way a lesser man would have made it through that he was sure. So, with a concrete place to start he had been searching apartments in Domino in both the paper and on the internet. He had learned a few things. The first was that apartments in safe neighborhoods with adequate security were hard to come by, the second was that even when one opened they were generally off the market in less than six hours. Domino was doing so well financially that it's population was increasing rapidly as many people flocked from more rural areas to find work. Realty was clearly a seller's market right now and rent had been hiked up across the board.

What was even more frustrating for him was that even at the high end of her range, and he was sure she wasn't going to budge one cent over that amount, none of the apartments he was finding were even close to what he wanted her in. Many of them didn't have any kind of security. Those that did were at a minimum, with most of them having outside staircases like her last apartment, which he felt heavily contributed to no one noticing there was an intruder. Wondering what it cost to get a place with at least a doorman, an inside entrance with some sort of lock or private access, and in a good neighborhood he began to research. What it cost, it appeared, was about three times what Sarah was willing to pay, and even if she would he could see it was too much for her budget. Her entire paycheck would be going to rent with nothing left over.

He had been momentarily frustrated by that until the businessman in him made a very logical, if underhanded, suggestion. Apartments were indeed a seller's market, which meant right now would be an excellent time to invest in them. If he owned an apartment building then rent was clearly up to his discretion and he could easily make it affordable for her, and thus not have to worry about her safety. Of course, he could never let her know that as it would have her throwing a fit, but it could be done without too much trouble on his end. And really, it wasn't as if she had stipulated that what she paid for her apartment had to be the same as everyone else in whatever building it was, as she had simply assumed it would be. She had also never said she wouldn't rent from him, likely because she would never suspect he would buy an apartment building just to have her safely living in it. This really seemed to be the easiest solution to be sure she was somewhere safe though. And he knew very well he would never get her in where he wanted otherwise. For all her self-confidence he had picked up on the fact that she didn't treat herself nearly as well as she should. He was sure it was a result of the abuse and that somewhere in her head she was sure she wasn't worth anything. He would be happy to keep proving to her that she was worth a very great deal, but it was going to be a long term and systematic process. He didn't have time to change her entire mindset in the few days that he had.

Switching his focus he began hunting for an apartment building that met his criteria rather than an individual apartment. He found three that would be acceptable and were within driving distance to both Kaiba Corp and his home, but as he wasn't in Domino looking at them was a bit tougher to pick between them. He needed someone to go in and inspect them if he couldn't do it himself. Conveniently, he had just the person for that job. Pulling his cell phone out as he switched to working on a memo for the plant he called Roland.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" The man answered on the second ring.

"I trust everything is going smoothly?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." Roland agreed. "Mokuba is at school and Sarah arrived safely to Kaiba Corp this morning. Nothing unusual has happened since you left yesterday."

"Good." He said, expecting nothing less. "I have a task for you."

"Of course."

"I have three buildings I need you to look at. I want to be sure they're secure places and that they aren't falling apart."

"I'd be happy to do that." He agreed. He gave the man the addresses and Roland spoke after he took them down. "Are these possibilities for Miss Drake?"

He narrowed his eyes, not liking that Roland appeared to have an opinion, but kept his voice neutral. "Yes."

"I'm glad." He said, sounding sincere. "Her last apartment wasn't in the best location."

He relaxed, his irritation vanishing. "Did you go with her when she went to clean?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. She wouldn't let me help, but she got it done."

"Shocking." He said sarcastically, not at all surprised she had refused and done it herself. "Let me know what you find."

"Of course, I'll have this done by tonight."

Less than five hours later Roland had emailed him a lengthy report on all three buildings, which he opened when he got to his hotel, noting one that clearly stood out above the others. Liking the pictures that had been included, which showed a very well maintained building and spacious rooms he made a call to his lawyer. By the next morning he was in legal possession of the place, having agreed to a price the owners set, which was high for what it was, but as the offer came out of nowhere and they signed it over immediately he didn't quibble over it.

Calling Roland back as he finished up at the sight this morning the made sure that a top of the line security system was put into one of the two penthouse suites and anyone at the door letting people in had passed a background check. Fortunately, one suite had been open for a new renter, although he wouldn't have hesitated to evict or pay someone off to get Sarah into it. He didn't see a point in putting her in anything less than the best and largest apartment there since he'd gone to the trouble of buying it. So, settled, he left feeling as if he had his life back in order in all arenas. Stretching his legs out and feeling satisfied with himself he was pleased when the plane began to taxi down the runway, more than ready to be back home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he got home that afternoon, having been given the keys to Sarah's apartment when Roland picked him up, he was greeted by Ando who took his briefcase and bowed to him. "Welcome home, Mr. Kaiba." He hummed in reply, his eyes searching for what he was really interest in, which were not pleasantries. Used to him Mr. Ando wasn't offended, or if he was he had the good sense not to show it. "The younger Mr. Kaiba and Miss Drake are in the family room." He told him, answering his unspoken question.

He nodded shortly and walked that way, wondering what they were doing. When he got to the family room, which was actually a large parlor he had converted into a cross between an entertainment center and a living room that and Mokuba spent a fair amount of time in, he found them sitting on the floor on opposite sides of a coffee table playing duel monsters. Sarah was watching Mokuba suspiciously from behind three cards as his brother smirked at her. He watched from the doorway, unnoticed, as she agonized over a decision for a long moment. He noticed that her sunburn had faded since he left and her skin was white again, apparently she didn't tan, simply went from burned to pale. "I'll play this card." She said at last, laying down some sort of warrior monster. "And attack your life points directly?"

"You've activated my trap!" Mokuba sniggered in triumph. "Say bye to your monster, and all your life points."

"No! Not again!" She all but wailed throwing her cards down on the table. "How are you doing this? Is that all you have in your deck? Trap cards?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teased in a friendly manner.

"Ugg!" Sarah sat back, blowing her now much shorter hair out of her eyes. He actually did like it, although he was sure she hadn't believed him when he said it. It had just been so odd to see her with hair that wasn't down to the small of her back. The cut was stylish and accented her soft features nicely though. It was different, but he was getting used to it. "Can't we play scrabble again? I like that game."

"No, never again." Mokuba denied adamantly, gathering up his cards. "You were making up words."

"I was not!" She protested. "They were Welsh. I let you check them on your computer and everything."

"Whatever, you cheated." He informed her.

"You know there are counter trap cards." He commented as he walked in, amused with the interaction. He was deeply pleased that his two favorite people got along with one another so well.

Both of them turned toward him and Mokuba grinned at him, bouncing up, and Sarah smiled brightly in welcome. "Nii-san! You're back!"

"There are cards that stop trap cards?" Sarah demanded, aggrieved. "You could have told me that!"

Mokuba sniggered as he embraced his brother back briefly, allowing the affection before going and sitting on the couch beside the remains of their game. He glanced over the cards, seeing that his brother had crushed her with his six samurai deck. This was a difficult set of cards to beat even for a very skilled duelist if the person that had it knew how to use them. He had certainly made sure Mokuba knew how to use them, having spent countless hours playing with him as they both enjoyed it, and at this point even he had a hard time outsmarting his brother. He was rather embarrassed to admit that Mokuba had nearly beaten him several times now. Oh, he had pulled it off at the end, but one game in particular had nearly destroyed him, with only a very fortunate draw saving the last of his life points. "You could have dueled her with a kinder deck, Mokuba."

"What's the point if it's not a challenge?" Mokuba asked as Sarah's eyelid twitched in tolerant exasperation. He could tell from her expression that she had likely been trounced several times over.

He smirked in agreement and Sarah got up, stretching her back. "Welp, you suck, Mokuba Kaiba, and I blame your brother as well for teaching you." He smiled at that and she put her hand on her hip as she looked at him. "Hey, Seto. I'm glad you're back"

"Hello, Sarah."

Her eyes twinkled as she finally got normal and socially polite response from him. "How did it go?"

He shrugged, leaning back into the cushions after he gathered up the cards she had been using to see what she had. "There shouldn't be any more problems."

"Sounds… productive." Mokuba replied as he flopped onto the couch beside him, no doubt guessing he had done some serious house cleaning.

"Oh, it was." He agreed, confused by the odd variety of cards in Sarah's deck. He recognized most of them as Mokuba's extra cards, or ones he had played with in the past and abandoned as he progressed as a duelist, but there was no cohesion about them at all. It looked like she had just picked up a pile and shuffled them together. No wonder she had lost. "This deck is a mess." He informed her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe I also need a regional champ tutoring me at this game."

Mokuba sent her a strange glance as he continued to look through the deck, not correcting her. "A regional champ?" His brother asked.

"You know." Sarah waved her hand at him as she sat on her knees on the floor to tidy up the space, putting Mokuba's cards in a neat pile and folding up the dueling mats they were using. She always seemed to be organizing something. It was like she didn't know he had a hoard of housekeepers to do it. "Seto taught you, it seems like an unfair advantage." Mokuba's eyebrows drew together as he glanced between them. Sarah tilted her head in that adorable way she had when she was uncertain about something. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, enjoying observing her. "What?"

"Seto isn't a regional champion." Mokuba told her slowly, as if she were simple.

"He's not?" She asked, full of innocent confusion. She turned to him. "You said you played in those before. I assumed you had won."

Mokuba chortled, realizing he hadn't told her and that was the source of her confusion, and he shook his head slightly, setting her cards back down. "Yeah, Sarah, he won."

"Then wouldn't that make him the regional-"

"Seto is ranked second in the world. He's only lost to one person, like, ever." Her face went blank and Mokuba turned to him. "I can't believe you didn't tell her that."

"It didn't seem to matter." He replied, and he saw Mokuba turning that over like mad. Of anyone on the planet Mokuba had seen this obsession of his the most, and all it's often insane manifestations. He was sure he was very interested in the fact that he hadn't been bragging about his ranking to her as it was as important to him as Kaiba Corp. "Sarah doesn't have much of an interest in duel monsters."

"You're ranked second in the _world?_ " She asked, really floored by the information. He smirked, deeply gratified he had impressed her as he felt that was normally an impossible feat. "The whole _world?_ And you've only lost _once?_ "

"Yes." He told her calmly, although really had had lost a few times to Yugi, but he refused to acknowledge that. Besides, one loss or a hundred were all the same to him. He would defeat Motou eventually.

She stared up at him for a moment, her large, wonder filled blue eyes holding him in place, before turning to Mokuba. "Blatant advantage!" She insisted, the friendly drama spilling over. "I demand vengeance via scrabble!"

He huffed out a laugh as Mokuba groaned. "No!"

"Oh come on!"

"I'll teach you if you want to learn." He told her, surprising even himself with the offer. He had no interest in teaching others, except for Mokuba of course, as he was neither patient nor kind by nature. But the idea of teaching her how to play was suddenly very appealing. It would be… fun.

"So you can also wipe the floor with me?" She asked, a smile playing on her face. "I think it would be safer to live in ignorance."

Shrugging, he replied. "It's up to you. I'll try to be nicer than, Mokuba. I'll at least help you build a solid deck before I trounce you."

"I'll have to think about it." She told him. "And weigh the pros of learning against the cons of you thinking I'm an idiot when you find I'm unteachable."

He sent her a look that told her that was ridiculous. "Then you can weigh them while we go look at your new apartment." He said as he got up. "Unless you intend to live here from now on?"

Her face showed more surprise. "My new apartment? But I haven't found one yet."

"I found you one." He informed her as he headed back out of the room. "Would you like to see it or not?"

She scrambled up hurriedly to catch up to him. "But, Seto-"

Mokuba called from the living room. "Haru and Rebecca are supposed to be over in ten minutes. I don't have to cancel do I?"

Sarah swayed where she was, appearing uncertain, as if she was worried. "I said that was alright yesterday when he asked. It's okay isn't it?"

"Yes." He agreed, not caring that she had allowed that and more than happy that Mokuba would be safely inside the mansion with his friends. "Roland can stay here with all of you. We should be back in an hour or so."

"Cool." Mokuba replied, snagging his deck. "Now that I've warmed up on Sarah I'm ready for some actual competition."

"Hey!"

He chuckled. "Come on, you."

"I mean, that's a little disheartening. I thought I was being at least mediocre in the entertainment department." She replied as she trotted after him, then changed the subject, letting the whole thing go with ease. "You were supposed to hunt for apartments with me, not by yourself."

"It seemed more efficient this way."

She rolled her eyes as they got to the front door and she slipped her shoes back on and got her bag out of the front closet. Really, he needed to break her of getting her own things and letting the staff do it, but he knew he never would. It was simply one of her quirks, one that like so many others he liked about her. "Right, that's the reason."

He ignored that. "It's ready for you if you like it."

"What does ready mean?" She asked.

"It means it's in a good neighborhood and the security systems is installed. I also had the doorman go through a very intensive background check."

"That seems rather excessive, Seto." She told him as she followed him out the front door.

"I don't think so." He said in the tone that told her the conversation was over unless she wanted to get into a smack down fight. Not that he would put it past her, but really he was hoping this would all go smoothly. "I'll drive. I want to be sure it's what I asked for."

"Haven't you seen it?"

"Only pictures." He told her, wondering when she thought he'd had the time.

Shaking her head she walked along the driveway with him toward his personal car. "What if it's awful and you had a security system installed anyway? And I never said you could do that by the way. How much did that cost, because I'm going to pay for it."

She most certainly was not. "It was a negligible cost."

"I mean, if you're a billionaire." She threw back. "Which I am not. I can pay my own way, Seto."

"I'm very aware of that." He agreed, reaching out and opening the passenger side door for her politely. She stopped in front of him with her jaw set stubbornly and he continued. "Before you go ahead and decide I should have nothing to do with this please look at it from my perspective."

She eyed him suspiciously, but gave him a little ground. "What perspective might that be?"

"Mokuba is with you a great deal, at least half of the time he's not in school you're with him. I'm very sure that he'll end up at whatever apartment you get at least once a week. It would make me feel much better if you had a decent security system, which cost substantially less than a full time bodyguard. He's expressed how much he would dislike that, and I'm fairly certain you also don't want a bodyguard standing in your apartment while he's there as you value your privacy."

"So… it's for Mokuba?" She asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

"We both know I like the idea of you having it as well, but yes, it's also for my brother's safety."

He saw in her eyes that he had won this round. "Fine." She sighed after several long moments. "I guess that makes sense."

"Good." He was satisfied and she slid past him and sat down. He closed the door once she was settled and went to the driver's side. As soon as he was in she continued. "But this is the only thing I'm budging on."

"Agreed." He replied, figuring that was fair, and fully intending to work around her about everything else. What she didn't know would keep her safe and him sane. Turning on the car he pulled out as she buckled her belt. He picked up the conversation as if there had never been a pause. "But I'll find something else for you if this isn't acceptable. I don't want you in another slum."

She sighed heavily. "There's a drastic difference between a slum and the apartment I was in, Seto."

He disagreed. "The apartment you were in wasn't safe and hardly up to the standards you can afford."

"I don't need a big place." She defended. "I liked that apartment."

He sent her a look, calling her out on that lie as he turned down a road. After opening up about his past with Gozaburo, no matter how little he said, he felt more comfortable speaking about his life. Maybe it was because that initial barrier was now down, or maybe it was because he had seen no pity or judgement in her eyes when he told her. All he had felt from her was a resonating sadness, a sadness for both of them, an understanding of what it was like to be isolated and unloved, to be at the mercy of another person. "Sarah, you aren't the only one that lived in a less than pristine environment. I remember very clearly what the orphanage we were put in was like before Gozaburo adopted us even if Mokuba doesn't. Don't convince yourself you deserve less than you do." She went quiet after that and he assumed she was bothered by his insight. The real difference between them though, was not the abuse and neglect, it was the purpose behind it. Gozaburo had been a cold and calculating bastard, but he'd had an end goal for his future. He had won his place as the Kaiba heir through cleverness and insight, and endless hours of torment as he continually proved himself. Gozaburo had hated him for being smarter than him, but he also respected that very thing he hated. So while he had suffered, he had also learned to value himself, and the gifts he was born with and was forced to hone. Sarah on the other hand, had been abused and neglected for no other reason than she was in the wrong place with the wrong person. So while he had been assured of his worth, no matter how brutally, she had been assured of her worthlessness. It was a distinct and defining difference.

After several minutes he spoke again, interpreting her silence correctly. "That man ruined your childhood, don't let him ruin the rest of your life. You've done terribly well for yourself with no help from anyone. I think you know the odds of that happening as well as I do. You should be proud of what you accomplished. You should take care of yourself the way you want. A pleasant and safe place to live is the very least you can give yourself."

"How bad was the orphanage?" She asked him, obviously unsurprised he had been in one. He supposed she had been in the system enough to have at least guess how it worked here. That, or Mokuba had mentioned it to her at some point.

He was quiet for so long he was sure she thought he wasn't going to answer. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been. It was loud and dirty, but no one hurt us other than a tussle I got into on my first day when a couple of other boys started in on Mokuba. Still, I was smart enough to know what would happen to us if we stayed. We'd either be separated or stuck there until we turned eighteen. In Japan there isn't much you can do with no family or connections. It would have been hard to support myself, let alone Mokuba if he was even still with me."

"So you traded one evil for another."

He shrugged, she was right, but he didn't regret the choice. "Mokuba was safe and taken care of. That's all that mattered to me."

"He told me he didn't like the man that adopted you. There's something wrong with men like that, men that hurt children." She looked out her window. "Maybe if I had been smart like you I would have gotten out faster."

That was a naive line of thought. "Our circumstances were different. There wasn't an out for you."

"I should have run away sooner." She told him with a sigh.

"And then what?" He asked bluntly. "How would you have lived? You would have either starved to death on the streets or had to sell yourself." She flinched, but he wasn't put off. He was ever the pragmatist and if she hadn't gotten herself here that was exactly what would have happened. "You took the lesser of two evils the same way I did and bided your time. It is what it is, Sarah. Turning it over in your head doesn't change anything."

"Don't you ever think about it?" She asked with frustration in her voice. Clearly, she did think about it.

"I used to." He told her.

"How did you stop?" She asked, really wanting to know.

He smirked, remembering the exact moment he had. "I ripped Kaiba Corp out from under Gozaburo and he committed suicide." She turned her head toward him sharply. "I didn't think about him again."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." He assured her.

She watched him for a moment. "I don't believe you." She finally told him.

"Why not?" He asked as irritation ran up his spine.

She looked back out the window. "Because you're still happy he's dead." She told quietly. "Because you're still proud of what you did."

"Why shouldn't I be?" He asked sharply, defensively. "After what he put us through?"

"I never said you shouldn't be." She told him. "But you do think about him, even if you don't want to. You all but told me that before you left on your trip. What he did, how he impacted you life, it made you who you are. You don't forget something like that."

"I made myself who I am today." He told her firmly, refusing to allow even the memory of that man the satisfaction of thinking any good part of him, any productive part, was his doing. "I was the one that outwitted him, I was the one that lived through him, I was the one that protected my brother, and took my company from him." He was frustrated now, but if it was at her or the subject he wasn't sure. "I did that. I did that the same way you worked out exactly how to get her and make a good life for yourself. If it were up to them we would be groveling slaves, at their beck and call for all of time. Instead we're both highly successful, brave adults. It was us who did that, not them."

"I wasn't brave." She told him, watching the passing scenery. "I was just more afraid that I would have to keep living with someone like him or worse to stay. I only moved here so I would be as far away from all of that as humanly possible. I ran as far as I could, and if there had been an opening I could fill somewhere farther away than Japan I would have taken it. I'm not brave the way you are, Seto."

"That's ridiculous." He told her, having seen her bravery over and over again. "I've seen you do any number of brave things, most of them were idiotic, but they were brave."

She shook her head, torn between exasperation and sadness. Sarah changed the subject abruptly. "So where is this apartment?"

He glanced over at her, easily noting the blunt topic change. "It's not far now." He told her, accepting the topic change. It wasn't exactly comfortable for him either. "You can't see the ocean, but I didn't want you right on the coast in case of flooding or a tsunami."

"Does that happen often?" She asked.

"Often enough." He told her. "Although if one is coming you can come to the mansion. It's safe there and has a flood wall."

Her lips curled up. "You're just prepared for everything aren't you?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He said as he turned left and into a parking garage.

"I'm saying it like you need to take a day off and go have fun, maybe once a year or so." She replied.

He sent her a dry look before pulling into a space. She looked around curiously as he parked, her sadness and regret vanishing as they entered the new surroundings. "The apartment building is above us." He told her. "You'll have two spaces assigned to you in case you have guests."

She found that odd, he saw it in the slight frown on her face. It was a luxury to have extra space in this country, but for the moment she didn't say anything. Getting out she followed him to an elevator, which had a security panel on it. He pulled an electronic card out of his pocket and handed it to her. Working it out quickly she swiped it and the buttons lit up green. Above their heads the elevator lights came on and she saw the machine coming down. She studied the card as they waited, noting it was rather nondescript, nothing to indicate what it was for. Holding onto it as the elevator opened she followed him inside, he noted without hesitation, and he hit the button for the top floor.

It wasn't the highest building in the city by far, but it wasn't the smallest either. The elevator took them to the sixteenth floor and she smiled slightly as they passed the thirteenth. "What?" He asked.

"In America the number thirteen is considered unlucky. Hotels and building never mark it, they always skip it or name it something different."

"That's stupid." He replied, having never noticed that on any of his trips before, but now marking it in his mind to look for the next time he was in that country.

"Yeah, but it's true." She told him. "It confused me when I was little, I couldn't figure out why adults couldn't count right."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as they got to the right floor. Stepping out she noted that there were only two apartments up here, one on either side of the long hallway. For his part he liked the privacy that afforded her. Spotting her apartment to the left he went to it and pulled the key out of his pocket. Unlocking the door he glanced inside then held it open for her. Sarah, who was craning her neck to see around him, moved forward. He stepped in behind her, letting the door close, and took the place in as he moved past her.

The apartment was nicer than the pictures had conveyed, bare as it was of furnishings. The walls were freshly painted and the carpets were new, likely replaced after the last tenant left. Everything was white and cream colored, making it shine as the late afternoon sun came in through the very large bay windows on the other side of the living room. He saw a hallway leading to the back and the kitchen entrance on the other side. This place was much smaller than the mansion, but easily as big as most middle class Japanese homes. Sarah would have plenty of space here, rather than being cramped into a single dingy room. "There's no way this is in my price range, Seto." She said, having stopped right inside the entryway. She had the same expression on her face as she'd had the first time she walked into his office. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving, sure that this was wrong.

"It is." He assured her, lying easily. "I gave them a quote of what you could afford and they accepted it."

"Just like that?" She asked warily.

"Yes." He agreed, looking about himself rather than at her, knowing how to act through this with ease. "I do have some experience with negotiating a deal." She sent him an unsure look, not wanting to move farther in unless that was true. "It's at your limit." He conceded, knowing that if he took less than that she would never believe it. Even now he was stretching at her internal estimation, but if he made it look like she could barely afford it he would get her. "But it's worth the money."

She was still planted where she was. "This negotiation didn't involve you taking a hit out on anyone or something did it?"

"No." He told her dryly. "I didn't have to threaten to murder anyone."

"O-okay." She said at last, moving forward hesitantly. He let her wander around on her own, watching her as she explored the area quietly for a few minutes before making his own inspection. Going back into the hallway he found one large master bedroom with an attached bathroom, and a second room, which could either be turned into an office or another bedroom. Going into the main bedroom he noted a sizable walk in closet, and headed back out to the main living area after inspecting the spare bathroom, letting her finish now that he was satisfied with the new accommodations. She found him a few minutes later looking out at the view from the large windows. Just beyond it there was a very narrow porch that was just big enough to sit a few small seats out on so she could enjoy the view. From this room downtown Domino was spread out below, as the building was located up on a small hill, and from her bedroom he had seen the the edge of a local park.

When she came out he turned his attention to her. "Well?"

"This place is gorgeous." She told him honestly. "How did you even find it?"

He shrugged, as if it were inconsequential. "The place is yours if you want it. You can move in anytime." She nodded and looked around again, still appearing unsure. Clearly, she had never expected anything like this. He thought it likely she had been hoping for nothing more than a minimal upgrade from what she had. "You'll get used to it." He assured her. "I understand this is different for you."

"I'm not ungrateful." She told him sincerely as she fidgeted where she stood. "I don't want you to think that. It's a beautiful place."

"I don't." He told her, thinking she didn't have an ungrateful bone in her body, and relieved this had passed whatever criteria she had set in that willful head of hers. "You're grateful for nearly everything." He indicated the door. "Let's go back home. I have all the paperwork there for you to sign."

She stood there staring at him for a moment and he raised an eyebrow, more than half expecting a rejection. Finally, she spoke. "No one's ever done anything this nice for me before." She told him, her eyes suddenly glistening wetly. "Thank you, Seto." She said softly, her voice hitching on the last syllable of his name before going up on her toes and kissing his cheek sweetly, her warm lips pressing softly against his skin.

He stilled, shocked by the sudden and unexpected affection even as his stomach clenched warmly. Giddy pride raced up his spine at having far exceeded her expectations, which irritated the controlled part of him, but he ignored it, basking in her approval. He watched her for several moments, unsure of how to react to that as she turned her face half away from him so she could look out the window. He thought she was about to start crying, which didn't make a lot of sense to him if she liked it here. It wasn't really helping that bubbles of happiness were popping around his head and distracting him. "It's only an apartment, Sarah." He managed.

She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, fiddling with it nervously. "No one ever thinks about me. No one's ever been so good to me the way you are, and I was so much trouble about the whole thing." She told him honestly. "And there's no such thing as only an apartment after spending more than one night out in the snow because you don't have anywhere safe to go." She looked back up at him and a tear managed to escape, running down her soft, pale cheek. "So thank you."

His whole being went terribly, shockingly soft. He knew she saw the difference in him, he knew he was different right now, the way he only ever managed to be with his brother when he was hurt or terrified. The way he suspected he might be more if his life had been different, if there had been more people like her in it before now. Reaching out he wiped the tear away gently with his thumb. "You're welcome, Sarah." He murmured, fighting the urge to wrap her up and hold her against him yet again. The compulsion was becoming stronger, somehow, and he wasn't sure how he resisted. "Don't cry."

Reaching up she wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hands hurriedly. "What a silly thing to do when something good happens."

Thinking more good things needed to happen to her if this set her off he placed the tips of his fingers on the small of her back, turning her toward the door. "Dinner will be ready when we get back, assuming Mokuba and his friends haven't eaten it all. Come on. You can come back tomorrow."

"Can I stay with you one more day so I can buy a bed to sleep in before I move in?"

"You can stay with me as long as you want to." He assured her as they walked out. "This apartment will be here whenever you're ready." Nodding, she smiled up at him shyly and he tickled at her back, not thinking about it, only pleased that she was happy. Pleased that she was taken care of. Pleased that this had all gone over so smoothly. And pleased that after only a moment she leaned back into his touch as a very light blush covered her cheeks.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Due Diligence

A month after moving into her new apartment she found herself relaxing back at the Kaiba mansion after work, although at this point it was no more uncommon than her being at her own place. She was here nearly everyday anymore, either tutoring Mokuba or hanging out with one of the Kaiba's. And if she wasn't here generally one or both of them were at her apartment with her for at least an hour or so in the evening. She liked having a space she felt comfortable inviting them to, and was really loving it just for herself as well. It was certainly the nicest place she had ever lived in, and unlike her last apartment it felt much more like a home than a place to sleep. True, she still hadn't decorated anything, but at this point it was because she had been spending extra money on furniture, kitchen wares, and other not exact necessities like fluffy towels. She wasn't sure she would ever really get over the feeling of panic when her bank account dipped too low, but she was really trying to accept the fact that she was a permanent part of this place now. After Seto went to all the trouble to get her the apartment she simply couldn't see how she could be anything but permanent on a logical level, but the irrational part of her was still fighting it a little. She was doing her best to beat that part down, but it was slow going some days.

Laying on the floor on her stomach in the entertainment room she propped her top half up on her elbows as she watched Mokuba trying to beat the boss in his videogame, her legs kicked up at the knee behind her. She was pretty good at videogames, but Mokuba was on a whole different level, moving through them with disturbing ease. He was growling under his breath at the game as he smashed buttons on the controller and she was amused, finding the whole thing entertaining to watch. Seto had an unexpected late meeting, and had asked her to go stay with Mokuba so his brother didn't have to either stay at the office or be by himself for yet another evening. She had happily complied, although really with all his friends Mokuba rarely spent an evening by himself unless he wanted to. She loved the kid, and frankly didn't want to spend another evening alone either. While she had initially enjoyed the solitude her own place afforded her, since it was safe and quiet save for the ambient noise of the city, she had recently found the isolation chaffing. Perhaps it was because she had grown used to being with Mokuba in the late afternoon, or that for the first few months she had been working such long hours between work and school. Now that she was only at Kaiba Corp for eight to ten hours in a normal stretch she felt as if she had far too much free time. Frequently now she found herself in search of companionship to do more than pass the time.

She wasn't nearly as popular as Mokuba, but she had gone on a few outings with Mai since she had promised her dinner and found her to be an entertaining and spunky companion. She had also accidentally ended up spending an evening with Duke, who she had run into when she had been bumming around downtown by herself one weekend. That had ended awkwardly, and she was unamused by being tricked into dinner by him, thinking it had been intended as nothing more than a casual meal between acquaintances. That assumption had been blown out of the water when he had leaned in and snaked a kiss when she was trying to escape the whole situation, having sussed out what he was after about three quarters of the way through the meal. He had gotten a cheek full of her palm and she had stormed out of the restaurant they were in, leaving him to pay the bill and nurse his pride. She had fumed about that for days, irritated beyond reckoning at the gall. It had only enraged her further that Mai had mentioned he was casually dating Serenity. Not that she was interested, but it was the point of the thing. She would be no one's fall back. What a playboy. "Get him!" She encourage. "Attack his life points directly!"

"This isn't duel monsters!" Mokuba told her as he dodged an attack. "Get it together, woman!" She grinned as he scored a hit only to be blasted into oblivion. "No!" He yelled at the screen.

"Aww!" She cried in sympathy as his game began to reload. "That's lame! You were super close that time!"

"Mokuba, I thought better of your gaming skills." Seto remarked casually behind them.

They both turned their heads and Mokuba puffed in annoyance, although she saw he was pleased his brother was home. Seto had gotten some sort of message right before she left that had him staying late, and looking distracted. She wondered if one of his off site production lines had blown up or something, but he had left in a hurry before she could ask. He had called an emergency meeting with his marketing, innovation, technology, and engineering departments, which she was thankfully not part of, and vanished after being sure she was going to be at the mansion with Mokuba while he was gone. "This boss is totally overpowered." Mokuba informed Seto offhandedly. "What was going on at Kaiba Corp?" He asked. "You weren't supposed to stay late tonight."

Seto set his briefcase down on a chair in the corner looking irritated. "There's going to be an international conference next week in California. I need to go."

"For what?" Mokuba asked as she shifted so she was sitting cross legged on the ground.

"We do have furniture you know." He informed them as he wandered toward them. "Why are both of you always on the floor?"

Mokuba didn't bother to answer and she didn't have a reason other than that was where they ended up. "What kind of conference?" He insisted.

"Apparently a showcase of new gaming tech will be on display. There's going to be booths for new vendors and inventors. I need to see what's there and push out the new generation duel disk system, at least the demo version. We have to stay ahead to keep our stock options up." He shook his head and she could only assume it was because he hadn't intended to have the new generation of duel disk out for another six months. That was a big push, especially when she knew he had been programming like crazy for the last few weeks as it was to make that timetable. She knew the marketing team had only just started working on the new branding for it, mostly because she had been asked to check that their initial ideas translated in appropriate ways across languages. According to one of them several snafus had happened in the past with new products that released internationally due to translating poorly, although never at Kaiba Corp. She wasn't entirely clear on what Seto was trying to make the new version do, but he had seemed extremely confident that whatever it was would easily make the last generation obsolete.

She was confused, but admitted to being fairly new to this business thing. "Don't those usually take months to set up? Especially one's that are for so many different countries?"

"Usually." He agreed grimmly.

She and Mokuba shared a look. "What's the catch?" Mokuba asked.

"I'm not sure there is one, other than Pegasus' being completely insane." He replied irritably.

Mokuba pressed his lips together and her confusion increased. "Pegasus?" She queried, her eyebrows drawing together. Even she recognized that name. "As in Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of duel monsters? I thought he was some sort of quirky recluse. Why would he hold a giant conference-"

Mokuba got up abruptly and walked out of the room, furious. Seto said nothing, only followed the retreat with his eyes until his brother was gone, slamming the door to the family room closed behind him. Shocked by the display of temper, as she had never seen Mokuba completely lose his cool, she stood up hurriedly, ready to go after him. "Mokuba?" She called after him with worry.

"Let him go." Seto ordered quietly, although he wasn't happy about the reaction either as he stepped over to the window and gazed out at his garden. "He needs a few minutes to work it out himself."

She turned her attention to him. "Work what out? What's going on?"

Of course, he didn't tell her. "I'll need you to come with me. The conference is going to be in San Francisco at Pegasus' corporation headquarters. There are going to be vendors from all over the world there. I'll need you to translate for me."

She was searching his face. "Seto?"

"It's a long story." He told her at last, his eyes steely. "Let's just say the three of us have a troubled history." He rubbed at his temples, looking as if he had a headache. "I'll have to bring Mokuba if we're both going. It's not safe to leave him alone and I don't trust anyone but you to watch him if I'm not here." Unsure of what to say she was quiet as she shifted up onto the couch, sitting on her knees on the cushion and watching him over the back of the piece of furniture. When he looked over he simply appeared exhausted, something he rarely let anyone see. He also appeared older than his nineteen years and she wondered yet again how he managed all the stress of running Kaiba Corp. "We'll leave in three days. The event is ending with a black tie dinner after three days of an open booth floor and multiple dueling tourneys meant to show off all the new products. Take the company credit card I gave you and get yourself a dress. Get a designer, I mean that. It'll come out of the corporate account so don't worry about how much it costs, you spend thrift. And before you even start you aren't the only one with a budget for that, most of my higher ups have one for things like this. It's in your contract."

She was too worried to roll her eyes about that. There was certainly some sort of emotional upheaval about all this and she hated seeing either of them upset. "Seto…"

He stared back out the glass, troubled. "When it's over you're welcome to stay a few extra days. I'm sure you'd like to see your friends while we're in the country. You haven't been home in over a year."

"I wouldn't call it home, Seto." She told him quietly, knowing that going to see anyone she had known before she ran was dangerous at best. She wondered how badly this was getting to him if he didn't think about that. He thought about everything. "I'd rather come back with you."

"Fine." He said distractedly. Unsure if he wanted her there anymore she shifted her weight on the cushion, trying to assess him when all she could see was a hazy reflection in the glass. It made it harder when she couldn't see into his eyes. After an awkward minute where he seemed to be somewhere far away he returned his attention to her and appeared almost surprised she was still sitting there watching him, as if she were some sort of novelty he hadn't been expecting. "Thank you for watching him tonight."

"You know I like spending time with Mokuba. You don't have to thank me for it." He tilted his head a little, but she knew he had worked that out fairly quickly, probably within three days of her tutoring him. "I don't want to go home yet." She said, not knowing why she said it, but feeling like she didn't want to leave. Still, it wasn't like her to try to take up his time or space when he wasn't interest, or if he was busy with something. "Can I help you with the duel disk?"

"I don't know how." He told her, although not at all meanly.

"Oh." She said softly, really wanting to help him with it. She couldn't even fault him for saying it though, she wasn't the best with computers. And it was him, so he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings although she would have felt that way with anyone else. "I could, erm, hold things while you build it? Helpfully?" He raised an eyebrow, some of the darkness in his eyes retreating at her rather pathetic suggestion. "Or… hand you things?" She said, as if upping some sort of amazing anti. His lip twitched once and she saw she was improving his mood as he found that funny. "Give you motivational speeches in any of eleven languages of your choosing?"

His eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Eleven now?"

She beamed over at him winningly as she leaned over the couch and the twitches quirked up higher, threatening to turn into a full out smile. Really, he hadn't pressured her at all to learn any more, but she liked to impress him and she wasn't sure how else to do it. It was so very satisfying when he looked at her like that, like she was amazing. She realized all at once she was flirting with him, but couldn't help herself. "I'll be a super good duel disk creating assistant, you'll see. Try me out."

"Do you even know what computer code looks like?" He asked, humor in his voice. "Or a fiber optic wire?"

"Well… no." She replied honestly. "But I really do know how to hold things. I'm a total pro, I should have put that on my resume when I applied, then you never would have threatened to fire me even once."

"We all miss opportunities." He deadpanned.

"Seto!" She laughed in mock outraged.

He chuckled and walked over to her, catching her totally by surprise when he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her over the back of the couch and setting her middle over his shoulder. The sail through the air had her giggling in delight as her stomach dipped the way it did when she was in an airplane taking off. Taking a few steps to the left he grabbed his briefcase off the chair he set it on and continued out of the room, still carrying her as if she weighed nothing. "I suppose I could find something for you to hold." He agreed as he headed out of the room with her still giggling as she hung off him. "Although I think you're going to have to teach me to curse in one of those language rather than whisper sweet nothings to me." Laughing more, she wriggled as they got out into the hall, figuring this would be an interesting way to spend the evening, and confident that this was Seto's way of flirting back at her.

"Put me down you crazy person." She chortled as giddy delight raced up her spine at the attention. "I can't help you at all up here. Where are we even going?"

Leaning forward he flipped her back over his shoulder and set her carefully on her feet. She swayed a little as she smiled and he put his hand on her hip and turned her around so they were facing the same direction. She danced after him as he went toward the east side of the mansion, his hand falling away. "My lab."

"I find I'm not surprised you have a personal lab in your home." She replied, focusing on the issue at hand rather than her crush, which was really spiraling completely out of control. "Can you actually get a demo version done in three days?"

"I don't know." He replied. "Possibly if I can get the programming finished. The duel disk itself isn't really the issue, although I'll need to finish wiring a pair of them so a duel can actually take place. I already have the updated parts here."

"What exactly are you trying to program into it?" She asked. "Why is it so different from the last one?"

"The last version just showed a hologram of the monsters. I'm making an artificial intelligence program for this one so they seem alive. It should make it an infinitely more appealing experience for the duelist. The real difficult part is being sure all of the monsters in the database react in their own unique way, and in their own unique way to one another."

"That seems scary to me." She told him, having seen a few duels at his theme park on the large holographic fields. It was an impressive sight. "I wouldn't want a real monster coming at me, but I see why other people would think that was awesome. I'm pretty amazed you can do that."

He opened a door to the left and revealed a staircase leading down. Unlike the one in the ruins this one was normal sized and well lit when he flipped the lightswitch on. It didn't inspire fear the way the other one had. "The few test groups I've had are impressed." He told her, not bragging, simply sharing information as she followed him down, curious to know what he had stashed down here. "The problem is the amount of data the program requires. I need a very specific sort of memory chip to hold it that's small enough to fit in the disc. I have a few I made myself, but I'll need to mass produce them if I can get this to work at all." He sighed. "I suppose that's an issue to deal with later."

"I'm sure you can make it work." She said with easy conviction. "You're so clever with machines." He smirked, pleased, and she rolled her eyes as she stroked his ego on accident. "You know who would actually be helpful with this? Your brother."

"Mokuba is good at putting computers together." He agreed as they came out into a large room filled with all sorts of interesting things. Unlike the rest of the mansion this room wasn't decorated. It was just a tile floor and pale blue walls. Along those walls were any number of generic metal shelves and assorted cabinets, all of which were somehow organized and completely chaotic at once. There were boxes full of electronics, computer boards, wires, and components she couldn't identify. Computer monitors sat both uncovered and wrapped in plastic in one corner and another held at least half a dozen consuls in various states of construction. Peaking out between the boxes were old versions of duel disks, and parts of them. Along the far wall was a single long table covered in schematics, and in the center of the room was another table with a few stools around it, which had all sorts of metal and electronic pieces laid out ready to be put together into a new duel disk, even disassembled she could see the outline clearly. Obviously, Seto had been working on this in his free time.

"I mean, yeah, but he could program with you." She pointed out.

Seto set his briefcase down on the center table and shrugged. "This is a bit beyond what he's doing in his robotics class in school."

"Well, yeah, I figured." She agreed as she poked at a piece of metal. "I would love to figure out how to make a car follow me around. That was just neat."

"While I'm sure both you and Mokuba had a great deal of fun siccing that thing after me-" She snickered in agreement at his irritated glare, having found that particular homework project of Mokuba's hilarious even if he had taken a few artistic liberties on it- "it still isn't even close to an AI program."

She glanced up at him, admitting to some confusion. Mokuba had found that whole event even funnier than her, as it wasn't every day one got Seto Kaiba to jump around cursing at an inanimate objects, but even she had seen how easy it was for him. She had also been a guinea pig for at least five video games Mokuba had created himself. While she didn't know much about programming she did know that was the more advanced kind, especially what he had produced, which were on par with things out on the market. Seto was opening up his laptop, having dismissed that topic now that he thought it was done, and it occurred to her all at once that he had no idea Mokuba could do that. Frowning, she slid out of her seat. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be here." He sighed as he turned and began digging through a box, his mind focusing on this task with a disturbing intensity.

Leaving the basement lab she went in search of Mokuba. Five minutes later she found him in his room aggressively throwing a tennis ball at the wall and catching it as it bounced back. Poking her head in she titled her head. "So...whatcha doing?"

He threw the ball again and growled under his breath. "Nothing."

She nodded. "I'm glad to hear that because I have a question."

"I don't want to talk about Pegasus!" He snapped.

"Um, okay, I wasn't going to ask about that." She agreed amicably, although internally really needing to know what was going on. Maybe if she bided her time she could get Seto to tell her.

He caught the ball again and glanced over. "What then?" He snapped. Hurt filled her as she wasn't used to being treated that way by him. She had never once gotten a harsh word from Mokuba and her concern deepened. Regret filled his face when he saw he had hurt her feelings. "Sorry, Sarah."

"It's okay." She told him, forgiving him at once. "I'm sorry you're upset, but honestly, I didn't come to ask about that and I won't talk about it unless you want to."

"Fine." He sighed, throwing the ball again, but this time not hard enough to slam a hole in the wall. "What was the question?"

"Why haven't you told Seto you're programming?" She asked him.

He shrugged, clearly not thinking that was interesting. "I don't know. I'm not that great at it."

"You've designed a bunch of games." She pointed out. "Really good ones."

"Yeah, but anyone can do that." He replied as if that were true, leaning back against his headboard and giving her his full attention. "It's not like I'm as good as Seto at it." He shook his head a little. "Not that anyone is as good as Seto."

She heard more in that statement than one about programming. "Mokuba, you're really good at it." She assured him, honestly meaning it. "You think you aren't because you're comparing yourself to what he does."

"Yeah, well." She saw the pent up frustration then. "Isn't that how it always is? Seto's the best at everything."

"That's not true" She stated, seeing exactly why Mokuba and Seto were having problems all at once. She wasn't surprised by his occasional rebellions, or that Seto hadn't picked up on the actual underlying reason. She also wasn't surprised she had gotten no resistance from him where Seto kept running into it head on. Mokuba wasn't trying to prove anything to her. He wasn't trying to find a way to be his own person with her, because with her he already was. With Seto he felt as if he was trapped in his shadow, doomed to forever be in the background.

"Yeah, it really is." He denied. "He's a super genius. He's a billionaire teenager. He's one of the best duelist in the world. He's always going to be better than me. It's just the way it is."

"Seto is _not_ better than you, Mokuba Kaiba." She told him firmly. "Your brother has a gift. It's flashier than yours. People notice it because he's not afraid to show it off. His ego would probably self destruct if he tried too, so there's that."

"What do you mean it's different than mine?" He asked, sounding sullen and tired. "I'm not as smart as Seto."

She considered her words carefully. "Yes, you are. You're just different."

He eyed her, sure this was some sort of platitude. "That doesn't make sense. I'm smart, but not like him." He threw the ball again. "And not like you."

She wondered how long this had been bothering him. "Mokuba, you're good with people, amazingly so. You read them. I've never seen anything like it to be honest. I think you can sense the minutia of their expressions and body language or something. You don't need to speak their language to know what they're saying. For all your brother's big brains and business savvy he can't do that. He's not good with people." He looked back at her and she met his eyes, being totally straight with him. "Honestly, he's pretty awful socially."

"He doesn't know how else to be." Mokuba told her defensively, sticking up for Seto even as frustrated as he was.

"I'm not judging him, I'm making a statement." She told him, staying calm as she walked in and sat on the edge of his bed so they could be a little closer while they talked. "Seto is successful because it's all he was allowed to be. He can run Kaiba Corp because he's creative, direct, and ruthless when he needs to be. It makes people confident that he can do whatever needs to get done. That works for him, and very well, but it doesn't make him well liked. You're completely different. You could convince an army to follow you to hell if you wanted, you have that level of charisma, you just aren't seeing it because you're hyper focused on being like him." Mokuba said nothing, only looked down at the ball in his hands. Reaching over she grabbed a pillow near her and threw it at him gently.

"What was that for?" He grumbled, looking back at her.

"Stop trying to be Seto." She told him gently. "Seto is already Seto. We don't need another one, goodness, could you imagine?" That had him cracking a small smile. "You need to be you. Embrace who and what you are."

"I'm not anyone special."

"Bullshit." She told him, which had him blinking in surprise as she never cursed. "I don't believe that and I'm a hundred percent sure your brother doesn't either. You are a brave, trustworthy, loyal, imaginative human being. You're without a doubt the most personable person I've ever met. I really mean that." She told him. "Existing in the same space as you is a wonderful experience."

"Thanks, Sarah." He said sincerely, embarrassed. "It's just hard being his younger brother sometimes."

"I can imagine." She replied. "You mean more to him than anything."

"Yeah, I know." He agreed, fully believing that.

"And he'll never admit this, but he needs help with his new system. I don't think he can get it done in three days by himself." She jerked her head a little. "He's in the basement now trying to get it done. Will you please come and help him?"

"He'll never let me do anything." Mokuba pointed out. "If you think he has control issue with other stuff it's ten times worse with his new inventions."

"Yes, he will." She said with confidence. "All you need to do is bully your way past him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" He asked.

"Just sit down and start working on it with him. Don't ask permission and ignore him when he starts to get all suspicious and irritable." She replied confidently. "It'll work. I'll distract him while you get the program up and then he'll have no way out."

Mokuba studied her for a moment. "You're devious when you put your mind to it."

She grinned. "I know right?"

Mokuba snorted in amusement as he got up, tossing the ball on his bed. "Fine, but when he turns into a bear about it you can deal with him."

"Fair." She agreed as they headed out of his room. "It's pretty funny when he gets flustered."

"You're a little insane to provoke him." Mokuba told her. "I think that's why he likes you."

She was bemused. "Someone has to keep him on his toes."

Mokuba sent her a sidelong glance as they headed down the main staircase. "And you've volunteered yourself for that task?"

"What can I say?" She asked. "It's something to do."

"Right." He agreed, clearly thinking she was tempting fate. "You do that and let me know how it works out for you."

Humor danced around her. Even knowing no one else on the planet would purposely irritate Seto, with the possible exception of Joey Wheeler, she was convinced that for her there would be no negative consequences. "You say that like you don't drive him crazy on purpose. He's still harping on about the car you know."

Mokuba sniggered, pleased with himself. "That was great. Why didn't we think to record that?"

"That's a great question. We really messed up there."

"I wonder if it recorded on the security system." Mokuba mussed. "I'll check later."

"Send me a copy if it did." She agreed, then the idea of that tugged at something in her head. She hadn't thought about there being cameras here, although she should have. If there were it was possible she could see what had happened that night she was here. Then maybe she could prove to herself that whatever that light was it wasn't her. That idea, no matter how crazy she found it, was driving her to distraction. "Did, did any of them record anything the night the security system went crazy?"

"No, I checked. The whole system was burned straight through. I still have no idea how that happened, and you'd think Seto would be all over that with the way he worries about how safe I am, but it was like it wasn't a big deal." She frowned over at him as they walked down the main staircase. "Or like he already knew what did it and didn't care he had to get a whole new system for the house."

"He replaced the whole thing?" She asked, dumbfounded.

Mokuba shrugged. "The day after you moved into your apartment he did. There was no salvaging it. Whatever it was broke the motherboard and charred every piece of circuitry."

That must have cost a small fortune. "And… he wasn't upset?"

"Not that I could tell." Mokuba agreed. "And it's not like he hides it when he's angry."

"No, he doesn't." She agreed, puzzled. Her mind turned back to that night for the first time since it happened and she was as confused as she had been before. Despite everything the logical part of her was saying she knew something unexplainable had happened. She wanted to ask about it, and struggled with sounding deranged for a moment before testing the waters. She figured if anyone was a safe bet to confide in it would be him. "Um, Mokuba?"

"Yeah?" He asked as they got to the main floor.

"When…" She stopped, rethinking the decision, and he turned his attention to her.

"What is it?" He asked, seeing something was bothering her.

She stopped walking, trying to work out how to ask this and seeing no good way to do it. "Nevermind, it's a crazy question."

"You have to ask me now." He told her.

"I just…" She pushed past her discomfort. "When we were in Egypt did you see anything weird?"

"Weird like what?" He asked curiously. "The whole thing would fall under the weird category for me."

"Like, like lights?" She asked hesitantly.

"Lights?"

Her frustration increased. "It's crazy to ask, but I swear I kept seeing lights all over when we were underground, and they were on Seto and Yugi too, and the shadows were, I don't know, following me." Mokuba's forehead crinkled. "And then-" She was losing all the momentum she had, her voice faltering. "They were here too, in the mansion, the lights and the shadows, the night the alarm went off."

He stared at her for a moment. "The shadows were following you?"

She sighed heavily. "I can see I'm losing my mind. Forget I said anything."

Turning, she was stopped when Mokuba grabbed her wrist, his grip surprisingly hard. "The lights were on Seto _and_ Yugi?" He asked, his face deadly serious.

The expression had her pausing, and feeling much less insane all at once. "You saw them?" She asked hopefully, thinking she wasn't crazy.

"No." He said slowly. "I didn't see the lights."

"Oh." She replied, crestfallen.

"Sarah, what did the shadows look like?" He insisted.

She frowned, wondering why that felt like an important question. "They… they looked like claws, and long fingers, and vines all at once." She paused for a moment. "But it was more than that. It was like… it was like the shadows were, I'm not sure..."

"Alive?" He asked her, watching her closely.

"Yes." She agreed at once, relieved he had put a name to it. "I know that all sounds crazy, and I wouldn't believe me if I said it, but-"

"I believe you." Mokuba told her sincerely, his eyes troubled.

She hadn't been expecting that at all. "Really?" She asked, relieved.

"Yes, really." He told her. "I've seen the shadows before."

"Seriously?" She asked. "Because I've never heard of anything like that. Did they grab at you too?"

His violet eyes were suddenly very calculating. It reminded her very much of Seto and it was so very easy to see that they were related in that moment. "They touched you?" She nodded hesitantly.

"Did they try to take you anywhere?"

"No." She answered, finding that an odd question when it had seemed to her as if that was the intent. "I thought they wanted to though, which doesn't make any sense either. How did you know that?"

Mokuba let her go and started toward the basement again. "I don't think they can hurt you, but I would stay away from them."

She scampered after him, wanting answers that he appeared to have. "But what were they?"

"Nothing good."

"That's not an answer." She complained.

"I don't have an answer." He told her. "Leave them alone and it won't matter." He got to the door of the staircase and pushed it open.

"It wasn't like I went searching for them." She hissed, not wanting Seto to overhear them. He would no doubt find this conversation idiotic. The last thing Seto would believe in were living shadows and magical lights. She didn't even believe it and she had seen them. "They found me."

Mokuba stopped on the staircase and stared up at her, keeping his voice low. "If you see them again run the other direction. There's nothing you can do to stop them except run." Unease settled in her stomach as she stood there and Mokuba shook his head. "Have you seen them since then?"

"No." She said slowly.

"Good." Mokuba was really relieved. "It's this weird thing that happens sometimes, alright? I can't explain it and I know it must have scared you, but it must be gone now if you haven't seen them again." He looked like he was about to say something and then changed his mind.

"Shouldn't we tell Seto?" She asked him, thinking he should know if some sort of shadow things were haunting his house. Not that she believed in ghosts either.

"You really think he would believe that?" Mokuba asked and she sighed, knowing that he wouldn't.

"I guess not, but still-"

"What are the two of you conspiring?" Seto called from his workspace. "I can hear you whispering to one another."

"Nothing!" She called innocently. "Just admiring this well built staircase!" She stalled, cursing herself for being heard before she got the answers she wanted.

"You hate staircases." Seto replied dryly over the sound of his fingers hitting his keyboard.

Pressing her lips together she stared at Mokuba meaningfully and he shrugged, turning and going into the lab. Huffing in annoyance and knowing there was no way to continue this conversation with company she followed him, trying to hide that she was sulking. Seto had already looked up by the time she made it through the doorway and she forced her thoughts away, putting on a bright an innocent smile. No matter how much she wanted answers she knew that in actuality this was much more important. And, she supposed, Mokuba was right about the whole thing. If she hadn't seen whatever those shadows were then they must have gone elsewhere. "I came with backup." She informed him proudly.

Seto raised an eyebrow and turned his attention back to his brother as Mokuba began to rummage around the extra consuls, clearly looking for something specific. "What are-"

She interrupted his train of thought by grabbing an old duel disk off the shelf, diverting him as promised. "So how do these work exactly?" She asked, turning it over as Mokuba selected one of the machines and began to set it up rapidly. "Does it have a clip or a latch to keep it on?"

He raised an eyebrow. "There's a button."

"Oh!" She agreed, seeing it. "Neat." She brought the machine over and sat down next to him. "So the deck goes here?" She pointed to the only spot it could possibly go.

Seto began to eye her up and down. "What are you doing right now?"

"Asking about your most profitable product." She told told him with a smile, seeing that Mokuba had already hooked a monitor up and the computer was loading. "So to better help understand what it is I'm helping with."

"No."

"No?" She asked, feigning ignorance. "So the deck goes somewhere else?"

"You're distracting me." He turned his head in time to see Mokuba pull out a stool and sit, plugging a keyboard in. "Why is she distracting me?"

"No reason, nii-san." Mokuba told him with utter calm as he began to type, embracing her plan of simply jumping into this without permission. "She's reconsidered letting you teach her to duel."

"I have?" She asked, caught off guard. Seto sent her a look and she scrambled to agree "I mean, yes, yes I have. I want to be the best."

Seto stared at her unblinkingly and she smiled, pointing to a card holder. "So my first card would go here? What about spell cards, or counter trap cards as I clearly need those to beat your brother."

"I'm in." Mokuba told her, which had Seto's head whipping around. His violet grey eyes were scanning the screen quickly. He let out a hum and began to type rapidly. "This is interesting, Seto."

Kaiba frowned and leaned over to see what he was doing. "You're in my program. How did you hack into my server?"

Mokuba kept watching the screen as he typed, although she couldn't see what he was doing, and likely wouldn't understand it anyway. "He's going to help." She assured Seto again. "He's really good at programming, and not only toy cars."

Seto appeared angry for a moment, no doubt by the interference, and then Mokuba did something and it was replaced with interest. Seto leaned in, watching silently for several minutes as something went on. She contented herself with looking at the duel disk, having never actually touched one before. As she hummed a tune under her breath, waiting to be told what to do, Seto sat up straight again. "When did you learn to do this?"

"I taught myself." Mokuba replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "It's not hard."

Seto hummed in clear approval, his eyes hooded for a moment before he set his computer aside and picked up a small tool kit. Sliding his stool beside hers he handed her a small screwdriver as he began to pull parts toward them. "I was told you were good at holding things by a very reliable source."

Her eyes danced as she held the tool firmly, her stress fading away as he began to carefully flirt with her again. "Even better than at handing you things." She agreed. "I feel good about this. We, and by that I mean the two of you, are definitely going to get his done with time to spare."

"I think she's right." Mokuba said, most of his focus on the screen. "This is a good program. We just need to teach it to do what you want so it can fix itself."

Seto opened his mouth to say something and then a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Yes." He agreed, turning something over in his head. "That's a perfect solution." Mokuba glanced up, surprised, and then a proud smile filled his face. Seto began to pick up pieces as he continued. "If you'll help me put these together first we can do that after. It'll be faster with both of us."

"Sure, nii-san." Mokuba agreed, shifting so he was helping. The two of them began to work together in surprising synch and she scrambled to keep up. They kept her so busy for the next few hours that she forgot about her odd conversation with Mokuba, and didn't have a chance to think about it again until late that night when she got home. By that time it was too late to pursue it, so she went to bed, figuring it would have to wait until after this conference. Not that there was a hurry, she simply wondered what was going on.

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait on this one. I was writing this chapter and the next one at the same time. I should have it up in the next day or so :)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Acquisitions

Smiling demurely at the businessman from France she finished the conversation and the man walked off, satisfied, as she stood next to Seto. She had been on his left for the better part of four days, and was starting to really lag, but was trying to hold off for a few more hours until this black tie affair was over and the conference finished. Overall, she thought it had gone well, very well.

After three days of frantically programming Seto and Mokuba had managed to get the AI program up and running, although they had been working on it on the plane nearly the whole way over here. While she didn't understand what they had done she was very aware it had been a massive effort and taken some sort of genius work to make it happen. Seto was deeply pleased, and not only with himself, but also Mokuba who had picked up on that and was trying to hide his happiness at making Seto proud. For her part she was as satisfied with that as them getting the new duel disks done. When they got to San Francisco she was not surprised to find that Seto had procured Kaiba Corp the prime spot at the venue, save of course for the Industrial Illusions section, which was only right as it was Pegasus company that was sponsoring the entire thing.

Seto didn't let that stop him from shining, and his team from his American branch, who had never met him personally, were torn between awe and terror as he swept in and took full control. Having never really pictured Kaiba as a showman she was surprised with how he organized the event for himself, which was as clever as it was impressive. She, and Mokuba, were also shocked when he handed the duel disk to his younger brother right before the hall opened and told him he would be showcasing it. Dumbfounded, Mokuba had stared up at him and Kaiba nodded with utter confidence in his brother's abilities, moving to the sidelines to watch. She had moved next to him after smiling encouragingly to Mokuba, who after a moment pulled himself together and put the duel disk on his arm, looking eager.

"I was sure you were going to duel someone here." She murmured quietly so none of his other employees could hear. She had actually been hoping to see that as now that she knew how good he was she wanted to watch. Not that she was disappointed in his choice as Mokuba would show himself, and all the Kaiba Corp gear off spectacularly.

"Mokuba is an excellent duelist." He told her, clearly confident with his choice. "And it's time he stepped into his role at Kaiba Corp. I don't want to push him as hard as I was, but this is where he'll start. He does well in front of an audience."

She nodded, having expected this was what Seto had been planning for some time. "You're going to make him vice president aren't you?"

"Of course, if that's what he wants." Seto said, as if that was always what had been set up to happen, although she strongly suspected it was not what his adoptive father had in mind. "Clients will flock to him and he has a good, if moderate, approach to business dealings."

"Is that bad?"

"No, not at all." Kaiba told her. "I'm extremely aggressive, sometimes I need an outside opinion I trust to hold myself back. Mokuba can provide that, and apparently he's a rather gifted programmer." He glanced down at her. "How long has he been doing that?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "Before I moved here I think."

Seto accepted that and they waited a few minutes for everything to start. Once the doors to the facility open and people flooded in the place had turned utterly chaotic as they pushed and shoved to see what was there. Seto's demo had gone beautifully as the Kaiba Corp section was surrounded. Mokuba had easily trounced multiple ranked duelist, which earned him some serious recognition from the crowd, and the battles themselves had been rather breathtaking to watch. The crowd had been even more impressed than she had and the roar of approval had nearly rocked the building down around them as the program they had worked so hard on was showcased. After that they had moved around the hall as Seto inspected what was on offer with an educated and critical eye. She had translated in nearly every language she knew, sticking next to him from the time they got up in the morning to the time they went to bed. Within days he had several new clients pending as well as interviews set up with some of the more impressive inventors there to talk about contracts and job offers.

The whole thing had been magnificently productive from start to finish, but one thing had been mentioned over and over by hundreds of people that were in attendance. Maximilian Pegasus had not been seen. Despite having hosted this event, and no doubt spending millions on it, he had never appeared. It was odd, and when she mentioned it to Seto on the third day he had been suspicious in the extreme. Kaiba had clearly been expecting some sort of grandiose display, but instead was greeted with absolutely nothing. She figured it was probably for the best and was simply happy Mokuba had relaxed and entered one of the higher level tourneys on the last open convention day. Roland had been shadowing the younger Kaiba closely, no doubt on orders from Seto, but for once wasn't arguing with his brother about it. Considering Mokuba hated the whole idea of a bodyguard it only worried her more about whatever had gone down before.

However, nothing happened and she had lost most of her wariness despite Seto telling her to be on her guard around the man. But when he still didn't show up at the party the last night she was sure he wasn't going to show up at all. She wondered at it, but only briefly as she had been busy getting ready. Despite Seto's fears that she wouldn't spend money on something nice, it was clear her choice on her dress, or more like Mai's, had been correct. Mai had a field day when she told her what she needed and had gone all out to procure her a dress. Seto had actually complimented her, which she took as a huge win. The long blue dress was a simple, but elegant affair. The same deep blue as her eyes it was sleek and form fitting. The silk fabric sat at her collarbones and went straight down to the floor in the front. In the back it dipped low, showing off the majority of her back, which was a stark contrast against the deep blue of the fabric. She was wearing simple, understated silver jewelry, accentuating the fabric, which was the real star of the outfit. Her hair was up, which had taken her over an hour to accomplish as she had put it in a complicated mass of braids and curls. She felt very sophisticated, which was a new experience for her.

As the Frenchman walked away she spoke quietly. "Can I have a bathroom break? I think everyone that doesn't speak English or Japanese is done with you for at least a few minutes."

"If they aren't they can wait." He told her, easily allowing her a break. "Do you want wine?"

She smiled up at him, amused with the offer. "You know we're both too young to drink in this country? You have to be twenty-one."

He stared down at her. "That's ridiculous."

"I'm just letting you know you're breaking the law, wild thing." He rolled his eyes, but his lips were twitching up. "I don't drink, but water would be really great." She requested, having too many apprehensions about allowing herself alcohol after what she lived with in the past. "I'll be right back."

He hummed in agreement as he made a motion toward a waiter that was nearby. For her part she slipped away quietly to use the facilities. Finding the main bathroom full she moved to the other end of the hall and was directed to a different one by one of the staff. After turning into a side hallway she found it, thankfully with no line, and was able to get out quickly. Stepping back out into the hall, with every intention of returning to Seto's side, she came to a dead stop when she turned back around the corner to the dining hall and found a suited man blocking her path. He was tall and had a earbud in his ear, no doubt attached to a radio under his jacket. She knew at once that he was waiting for her by the way he was watching her and stopped in her tracks as cool brown eyes met hers. Warning bells blared in her head and she turned to go back the way she had come only to find another man behind her, preventing her from retreating. Turning her head forward again the first man spoke. "You're to accompany us, Miss Drake."

She eyed him. "Accompany you where?"

"To a meeting."

"I didn't agree to a meeting with anyone." She informed him, not liking this one bit.

"Your agreement isn't necessary. I'm under orders to escort you to the meeting one way or another. I'd appreciate it if you didn't make this difficult."

She didn't care at all what he wanted. Pulling air into her lungs she opened her mouth to scream and the man behind her put his hand over her mouth and grabbed one of her arms as the one in front of her lunged forward and grabbed the other one. Her curses were muffled dramatically by the man's hand as she was forced to walk left into another hall. Struggling hard she was forced into an elevator with clear glass walls and the first man, the one that didn't have his hand on her face, pressed the button for the top floor of the building. As soon as the doors closed the hand fell away from her mouth. "There's no point in screaming." The second one told her as they went up, the view of the dining hall spread out below them. "No one can hear you in here, but feel free to try if you'd like."

Believing that she wouldn't be heard she took a different approach and tried to ram into one but was pulled back by his partner and stood there simmering in rage, caught between them. Her fear of small spaces was pushed aside by her anger, and the clear glass was also helping somewhat. In less than a minute the elevator slid to a smooth stop and opened up into a long carpeted hallway. She was lead forward, struggling and with her stomach in knots, but unable to fight against the two men holding her, who she could only assume were weight lifters of some kind, because they were practically carrying her to get her to go. Getting to a large wooden door at the end of the hall one of them knocked and then pushed it open, shoving her inside before them.

The men loosened their hold substantially when they walked into a dimly lit, long room with an equally long table in the center. One wall, the one facing the area where the conference floor had been, was made entirely of one way glass. Wrenching her arms free she glared at them, more angry than frightened by being abducted this time. She was starting to think this was becoming a bad sort of habit, but at least she hadn't been knocked out in her own home this time. As the flunkies backed away the lights came up a bit and she saw a man with light blond, shoulder length hair covering part of his face sitting at the head of the table on the end farthest from her. He was in a red suite with a crazily patterned ascot around his neck, which looked strangely okay on him, and was sipping a glass of wine. She knew who he must be at once. This was the elusive and eccentric Pegasus. He hadn't made an appearance at his own event, and yet for some reason she had the dubious pleasure of his company.

As she stood there silently, trying to decided how to handle this situation, he glanced up at her. She saw one brown eye glitter with interest, and could just barely see that he appeared to have a patch over the other, hidden behind his hair. He looked like a strange sort of business pirate. "My, my, I suppose I never could fault Kaiba boy for his excellent taste."

She narrowed her eyes, refusing to be intimidated since that was clearly his intention. "Why am I here?"

"I've met everyone else at my little soirée. Everyone important at any rate." He indicated the chair next to him, which had another beautifully made goblet and bottle of wine in front of it. "Wine?"

"No." She said, refusing to move, and very aware the two men on either side of her could no doubt get her in a chair, her protest be damned. That didn't stop her from refusing however. If she was going to be a kidnap victim she was going to be the most unruly one imaginable. "And I have to tell you abduction isn't the best way to start a date no matter how good the vintage."

He laughed, the sound filling the room. "Oh, my sweet, you are spirited." He waved his hand at the two guards. "Wait outside, I've private matters to discuss with this beauty."

The two guards left and she stayed planted where she was since it was clear she wasn't going to be allowed out. She didn't sense any sort of sexual interest despite the second reference to his approval of her appearance, although that didn't necessarily mean she was safe from assault. Not that she was necessarily safe from anything at this point. The cryptic warnings she gotten from Seto about being careful around this man rang loudly in her head. Not for the first time she wished he had given her more information about him rather than less. Other than being told he was 'a raving unhinged lunatic' she didn't have a lot to go on. Unfortunately she didn't have much of an option as it was clear he meant to get something from her since he went to all the trouble of dragging her in here. "Why am I here?" She demanded again.

He sipped at his wine. "Kaiba doesn't befriend just anyone, or really anyone at all."

"I'm his employee." She said easily, thinking she might have been snatched for ransom or something, although Mokuba would be the more logical target for that. "An excellent one actually, but an employee."

"Tut tut." He waved his finger jauntily. "Lying doesn't become you, and I'm afraid you aren't overly skilled at it. Those mesmerizing eyes of yours betray you left and right. I've been watching the two of you since you got here." He indicated the glass. "He's clearly quite charmed with you. Why, he even smiles for you, and laughs, oh my! I've never seen him do that for anyone, not even for the much beloved younger Kaiba." He sipped at his wine. "Mokuba is such a lovely boy isn't he?"

She raised an eyebrow, playing it off, but becoming more uneasy by the moment. She hadn't liked the way he said that at all. It had been totally creepy. "Have I mentioned that I'm funny?" She asked. "And since when is entertaining your boss a crime? There's no shame in making sure your employer likes your company at business functions."

"You are quick witted." He replied, his voice filled with dark amusement. "But I've had so many terribly good reports about your, shall we say, _exploits_ with dear Kaiba." She frowned more deeply and he waved his hand in a lazy circle. "I mean, spending at least thirty hours of your free time at his lovely estate a week even after spending your work days with him, going on mysterious vacations-" He made a 'hah' sound, feigning scandalization as he referenced her last abduction. "And living with him for what was it? Nine days? Well, how unseemly. What would the press think?"

"Reports." She repeated flatly, unmoved by the implication that they were sleeping together and fully believing this was not a way to get her to confess that she had indeed done all of that. Well, not the implied part, but everything else. This man was sure about that information, she could tell in the way he was holding himself. There was an easy, arrogant confidence hanging about him. It didn't take a genius to fill in the blanks. "How many spies do you have in Domino? Or at Kaiba Corp for that matter?"

"Enough to get me the information I need." He replied easily, a small smile on his face as he swirled the deep red liquid in his glass absently. "Shall we have a more frank discussion about your association with the dear Kaiba brothers now that the air is clear?"

"I have absolutely no reason to explain, or justify, any relationship I have with anyone to you." She told him bluntly. "And if you brought me in here to tell you anything about either of them, or headhunt me as I'm still not sure why I'm here, you've wasted your time."

"Now, now, Miss Blanche, not even the smallest tidbit?"

Her shoulders went stiff at the use of her real name. She felt her unease increase tenfold, because he shouldn't know that, no one should. "That's not my name."

He reached over and tapped a manilla folder that was sitting on the table to his left with the tip of his finger. "I'm very sure it is. And interestingly enough you're also three months away from being eighteen. Did you know you aren't allowed to make your own decision until then? At least by U.S. standards, and since this is where you're from." He shrugged. "Well, what would child protective services do to you? I've no doubt they've been searching all over for you since your little escape act last year. How brazen of you to come back so soon, or really at all." She clenched her jaw as her stomach rolled with anxiety. Her secret was clearly less safe than she had hoped and she was very sure this was not the person she wanted to have worked this out. She should have known if Seto could dig up her past others could as well. "And whatever would Kaiba think when he finds out? He's certainly not allowed to employ anyone under eighteen. Labor laws can be _such_ a hassle, not to mention all the other laws you broke illegally obtaining a visa. Domestic, foreign, international. You really ran the entire gamut."

She felt panic begin to set in, but beat it back, calling his bluff. She was buoyed ever so slightly by knowing that Seto already knew about this. "Have fun proving that." She challenged, going all in. "Call them in if you're so sure about whatever information you have." His eye glittered as she pushed back. "Well?" She taunted. "Surely you have a cell phone, and at this point we both know he's started to look for me if I'm as important as you think I am. How much time do you really think you have if you're so sure that we're friends?"

He smiled, a crafty thing. "Spirited indeed." He said to himself, before addressing her. "Last chance. It's a good offer and the alternative..." He shrugged.

"Would you like me to tell you where to shove that offer?" She threw back, knowing she would rather be deported from Japan and imprisoned here than telling this man a damn thing about Seto. Kaiba had been better to her than anyone else ever had, and he was her friend. She wouldn't betray him.

Throwing his head back he laughed. When he stopped he watched her. "You _are_ amusing." He told her. "It's too bad you're so loyal. I would have enjoyed working with you." He sighed. "But no matter, I was hoping you would pass my test."

"What?" She snapped.

"I could hardly trust you to help dear Kaiba boy if I could sway you to my side." He replied calmly, although he clearly wasn't surprised she had defied him.

"Help him?" She asked, confused and off kilter by this odd conversation, which was flipping around so quickly she wasn't sure where she stood with him from one moment to the next.

Putting his hand on the folder he slid it to her across the long table. Taking a step forward she stopped it before it could fall to the floor. After staring at him for a moment she opened it, expecting to see information about herself, information he meant to use to blackmail her. Instead, she found a small pile of legal documents. Frowning, she glanced up at him again to be sure he was staying put and began to read through them quickly. She was further confused when she realized what they were. "Kaiba Corp stock?" She asked, thumbing through the paperwork. With growing trepidation she realized how much these were worth. Her back went rigid and she looked back up, truly alarmed. "How much of it do you own?"

He smiled, fully pleased with himself, as he sipped his wine. "Ten percent, well a little more, but really why quibble over tenths of percentages?"

She kept her composure, although even with only the most basic understanding of how this worked she could see the very real danger this presented to Seto and his control of his company. She didn't understand how he hadn't found out about this when he had a team specifically for watching his stocks and predicting when it would be a good time to roll out new products, increase sales, or decrease production. Surely there was no way Pegasus had bought this much without anyone noticing. "Seto owns fifty percent. Mokuba owns another one percent. You don't have enough to take over." She said. "And even if you did Kaiba Corp has to be run by a member of the Kaiba family. It's in the bylaws."

"Keep reading." He encouraged, clearly aware of all of that. Going back to the paperwork she got to the end and blinked when she saw her name on the bottom line. It took her several baffling moments to process what she was reading. While the stocks had been purchased by Maximilian Pegasus he had signed them all over to her. Her eyes darted back up to the top of the page. These stocks were worth hundreds of millions of dollars, at her very lowest estimate having no idea what a share was worth at this particular moment in time. She would never make enough to even come close to being able to buy this. When she raised her head sharply he tapped his finger on the glass, studying her reaction closely.

Silence stretched between them before she finally broke it. "What is this?"

"Why ten percent of Kaiba Corp. Do keep up, dear."

"Don't patronize me." She snapped. "Why is it in my name?"

"Oh my." He sighed tragically. "As I suspect you know the Kaiba brothers and I had a falling out about five years ago now. The whole affair was so upsetting." She said nothing, having managed to get no details about whatever that incident was from either Mokuba or Seto. "And I do so want to make it up to them, but they couldn't very well trust me now."

"Still not following." She said bluntly.

"Consider this a peace offering." He told her. "I have a feeling one day Kaiba is sorely going to need control of those stocks, and if he buys up anymore his board of directors is going to get very nervous indeed, which is no doubt why he's refrained. It's only a matter of time before he enrages some powerful someone or other. He's got all the tact of a brick thrown through a window." She couldn't really disagree. "And when that time comes he won't take help from me. Oh no, never." She couldn't disagree with that either. "But, my dear-" His voice went from teasing to serious. "-he will trust you."

"And what do you think he's going to do when he finds out you gave me millions of dollars worth of stocks in his company? This would make me the most influential person of Kaiba Corp short of the majority shareholder, which is Seto. Even Mokuba wouldn't be able to overrule me and he's the only one with any other percentage of the company."

"I hardly care what you tell him." He told her, clearly approving of her thinking. "You may not want to tell him at all. I assume you're fully aware of the control issues he has. What a reaction he'll have when he finds out what you could do." Gleeful delight filled his face at the thought of Seto no doubt having a full on meltdown. "But it's up to you completely. As of ten minutes ago when I signed those documents in front of my lawyer and a notary the stock is completely yours. I've no power over it at all now."

"I didn't ask for this." She told him, thinking this was some sort of elaborate plot, or bargaining chip, or blackmailing scheme, although what it could be was beyond her. "I'm not giving you anything for it."

"I'm not asking you to, my sweet." He replied, taking another sip of his wine. "But I hardly need to. You'll do what I wanted you to do with it and hold onto it until he needs it, if he does."

"How can you possibly know that?" She demanded. "You don't know anything about me. I could walk out right now, sell these, and vanish."

He smiled. "I think I know enough about you to feel more than comfortable giving those to you, my little runaway. You were made to protect him and that's exactly what you'll do." Her forehead crinkled, not understanding that, but he went on. "And besides, people in love are so predictable." She faltered hard at that statement and he smirked. "You haven't told him have you? How amusing." He sipped at his wine as she stood there. "Poor thing, aren't you in a nasty bind. You can't seem to help yourself though can you?"

"You're insane." She told him frankly, gathering her mangled thoughts together and refusing to be baited even as she felt as if she'd been smacked across the face by his casually stated observation. "Like, way more than people say you are, clinically so."

"I prefer eccentric to insane." He told her, not at all hurt. "But semantics. The paperwork will be mailed to you immediately. No need to try to carry all that around while you drink champagne. I do so want everyone to enjoy the party, they're such fun. I suggest you contact your lawyer about it as soon as you get home." Before she could answer there was a shout and a resounding thud out in the hall. She turned her head as Pegasus hummed. "Alas, there's the end of our meeting."

The door was thrown open and Kaiba stepped in. The look on his face actually frightened her. She had seen him irritated, frustrated, moody, and even angry, but this was completely different. He was absolutely radiating cold fury. He took in the situation at once and moved to her, striding boldly into the room as if it were his. She saw the two men that brought her here unconscious on the floor outside. Beside them Roland and Mokuba were looking rather shocked, and she could only assume Seto had knocked them both out himself. "Not one word." He said fiercely to Pegasus. He kept his eyes trained on the other man as he got to her. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." She told him.

"Did his men?" He demanded.

"Not really." She answered.

"We're leaving." He put his hand on her back and began to herd her to the door, and away from the other man. Since all she wanted was to get out of there she made no protest. When she was safely between himself and Roland he addressed the older man again. "This is absolutely the last straw." Kaiba stated in perfect English, his voice cracking like a whip. "If I _eve_ r see you again, if there is _one hint_ that you're bothering her in any way, if I find out that she's involved in _any_ of your insane plots I _will_ come back here and I _will_ kill you."

Pegasus raised an eyebrow and sipped at his wine, saying nothing, but not looking very concerned by what she was sure they were all aware was a very sincere promise. In fact, he appeared smug, and Kaiba saw it. With one last furious glare Seto turned, putting his hand on the small of her back and walking out with her. She said nothing, truly understanding how dangerous he was right now. As he made a sharp motion for Mokuba to go before them Roland hurried in front of all of them, no doubt ready to clear the way as they went. The bodyguard pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and hit a single number as he got the elevator back open. The phone connected to someone and he spoke as his head swiveled about, searching for more of Pegasus' men as they filed in before him. "I want the car out at the south entrance to pick us up now. No excuses."

"Have our things taken directly to the airport." Kaiba ordered, smashing the ground floor button viciously. "I expect to be in the air in the next hour."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." Roland agreed as he hung up with the driver. He began to make more calls as the elevator took them down and Seto urged them out quickly, routing them around the outside of the party hall and toward the side exit, avoiding the crowd as best they could. By the time the stepped out into the cool night air the car was there with the driver holding the door open for them. Seto had Mokuba and herself in the car before him and she saw his eyes darting around, hyper-alert. She continued to say nothing, and when she sat down she saw Mokuba had his eyes trained on his brother as he got in, but was also silent.

The drive to the airport was uncomfortable. Seto was seething silently and his rage filled the back of the car in palpable waves. Knowing she was, if not the cause, at least the catalyst, she remained silent. Having no idea what would throw him fully over the edge, and seeing he was indeed on the brink of control, she erred on the side of caution and said nothing. As they drove she began to shiver as the cold of the night seeped into her. Her wrap had been left at the coat check as the building had been quite warm with all the people in it, but the weather here was cool and the heat in the car wasn't on. Crossing her arms in an effort to get warm she looked over at Mokuba. He met her eyes and it was clear they were agreed on how best to deal with Seto. He was not to be poked, prodded, or questioned until he calmed. Having silently agreed to this course of action she looked down at the floor. It wasn't like she didn't have enough to think about.

Even now she wasn't sure if Pegasus had actually intended to give her those stocks, if the paperwork had been real, or if it was all some sort of game. It was obvious from what Seto said that he was well acquainted with whatever 'insane plots' the man was capable of, which meant he had done things like this before. She certainly didn't believe anything was going to come in the mail. It was just as likely he had gone through the drama and made everything up to get some sort of specific reaction or action from her or Kaiba. The only thing she was sure of was that whole thing had been some sort of test, but if it was really for her or Seto she had no idea. He certainly got a great deal of information about both of them for all she'd refused to answer any of his questions. However, having Seto burst in the way he had certainly cleared up any possibility that they weren't on some sort of intimate terms with one another, and her reaction to his other statements had been more than telling. And if that meeting had indeed been exactly what he said it was, then she had no idea how to approach the idea of owning a tenth of Kaiba Corp, which she neither wanted nor deserved.

Baffled, and with her adrenaline still rather high she ended up biting her lip to try to settle herself down. The slight pain that brought helped a little, but it clearly wasn't enough to stay under the radar. Seto shifted and she glanced up at him. He was shrugging out of his jacket and once it was off he handed it to her, his eyes raking over her. Taking the jacket she smiled at him, trying to soothe. He was clearly far more upset than she was, despite the fact that she had been the one that had been dragged through the building. "Thank you." She began to draw it over her shoulders and was relieved at the heat that was still clinging to it from his body, but the first good thought she'd since she came out of the bathroom over half an hour ago was shattered.

"You're covered in bruises." He stated icily, and it was clear from his tone that he hadn't calmed down much in the last ten minutes of driving.

She followed his gaze and saw that there were a number of finger shaped bruises on her upper arms and wrists where the two men had held her. She doubted she had made them better with all her struggling as they were forced to hold her hard to keep her from getting away or hitting them. She pulled the jacket fully over her arms, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts. When she spoke she kept her voice calm. "I was trying to get away. I don't think they intended to hurt me." Seto's response was another silent wave of rage, although this one felt raging hot rather than the cold fury when he was addressing Pegasus. She wasn't sure which was worse. "They'll be gone in a few days."

His eyes flashed dangerously and too late, she realized that was the wrong thing to say, although she wasn't entirely sure there was a right thing to say. Mokuba skidded into the conversation to help prevent catastrophe. "I'm sure Sarah will feel better once we leave."

She grabbed at that at once. The best thing for all of them was to get Seto out of here before he could do anything that would get him in real trouble, such as murder. "He knows I'm a runaway." She said, and then all attention was on her. If she could make this about her it would work, although she was no more sure Pegasus' threat about getting her in trouble with the law was legitimate either. "He said he would call child protective services and tell them I was here. I need to leave."

Mokuba frowned and she saw Roland look at them through the back window. The driver hadn't understood as they had been speaking Japanese and continued driving calmly. Despite his general silence the bodyguard spoke, confusion in his voice. "How can you be a runaway? You're nineteen."

She bit her lip again and looked over at Seto nervously. He pressed his lips together hard before speaking. "Call the airport. If our things aren't already on the plane when we get there have them shipped to us."

"Wait." Mokuba protested. "You're nineteen. Aren't you?" She tugged at Seto's jacket nervously, and this time she wasn't acting. Mokuba was not slow. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen." She whispered, seeing Roland leaning nearly through the open window separating the front of the car and the back to hear her. "I'll be eighteen in three months. They have every legal right to keep me here."

Roland pulled his phone out again and she heard him talking, ordering someone to get the plane ready and their flight plans changed at once. Mokuba's eyebrows drew together. "Your birthday isn't even in April?"

"It's June seventh."

Mokuba was now torn between that fact and a thousand other things. "How in the heck did you make it through the background check?"

"I…" She whined softly, really not wanting to admit this even if Seto already knew, or at least inferred, what must have happened. "I ran away from foster care and broke into a veterinary practice, stole all the money they had on site, and quite a few of the drugs they used on the animals. I sold all the drugs to a dealer, then took all the money and paid a hacker I found to change my birth certificate and cyber history. He wasn't as good as I had hoped, but it was good enough to pass the background check and fool the recruiter. I was afraid to push my luck and tell him I was more than eighteen, I don't look old enough to pull it off, and I didn't know that meant I had to finish school until he told me. At that point I was in too deep to back out even if I'd wanted to. My visa was already processing at the state department and they would have arrested me if I up and vanished. It would have looked too suspicious. Pegasus must have found something the hacker missed."

"No." Seto corrected. "He must have found a hard copy of your actual birth certificate. There's nothing left in any computer system on the planet that would say you are anything other than Sarah Drake who was born on April twelfth nineteen years ago."

That threw her as she understood very clearly what he had said, and what he must have done. "You-"

"Yes." He said, answering her question shortly. "And none of us will ever speak about this again. It could get you deported and I would have to pay far too much in legal costs to prove I had no part in altering state records in two countries and try to keep you in Japan."

She felt very guilty. "I never meant to-"

He made a sharp motion, dismissing her concern. "You didn't ask me to do anything. I made that decision by myself. Now, no more." Her guilt quickly shifted to gratefulness the likes of which she had never felt. This was well beyond him finding her an apartment and that had nearly had her breaking down. This was her whole life. What he had done made her completely safe, forever. She nodded, swallowing what felt suspiciously like a sob, although she was hardly sad. She thought it was just so much relief knowing that something she worried and feared was no longer an issue that she didn't know how to handle it. She still didn't know what to do about Pegasus knowing, but if all he had was a piece of paper and nothing to back it up then she could defend herself much more easily.

Mokuba shook his head, looking like he had a million more questions, but the car slowed to a halt. They all looked out the window and heard the driver speaking to someone at the gate of the airport. After only a few moments the gates open and the car drove forward. Less than two minutes later and the car was parked outside of a hanger. They got out and she saw the pilot in the cockpit moving around. Roland spoke to Seto as Mokuba got out of the car ahead of her. "Your things are still twenty minutes away. I've re-routed them to the nearest postal services."

"Fine." Seto said, reaching down to help her out. She took his hand and he kept her steady on her heels until she was fully out of the car. "How long until we take off?"

"Five minutes." Roland told him.

"Good." Seto headed to the plane and she followed after him quickly, being moved forward by the firm grip he still had on her. Good to the short timeline they were in the air in five minutes. They barely had time to sit down and settle in before they were taxiing out and then flying off. Looking out the window with Mokuba leaning over her seat from the one behind it she let out a sigh of relief as the land fell away and they started heading home. When she looked over she saw Roland had also relaxed and headed to the cockpit to get the flight plan, or talk to the pilot about the trip.

Mokuba flopped back in his chair and Seto stood up as they leveled off. He walked over to her and sat down in the chair across from her. "What did he want from you?" He asked. Behind her Mokuba sat back up and leaned over the seat again.

"A spy I think." She told him, which could be as true as anything else. She was so confused she was going to wait to see about the stocks. "He already has some either in Domino or at Kaiba Corp. I tried to convince him I was just an employee like anyone else there, but he said he had reports about what I did and where I was all the time. He knew how much time I spent at the mansion with both of you. He was going to make some sort of deal with me about it. I told him no." Seto said nothing and she began to tug at the jacket nervously again. "I swear I didn't tell him anything, Seto. I wouldn't do that."

"Of course not." He dismissed that as a given.

She gave him more, and willingly. "But honestly, I don't even know if that's what he wanted. I'm usually good with reading people, but he was all over the place. Maybe he just wanted to know if he could upset me, or he was trying to get me to work for him in some weird roundabout way. Or maybe he wanted to see what you would do when I went missing. He knew I was with you and he knew you would know something happened." She made a helpless gesture. "He seemed crazy."

"Yeah." Mokuba said. "Because he is."

"Don't let his mannerisms fool you." Seto advised. "He may be crazy, but he's sane enough to use that to his advantage. He thrills at unsettling people and he enjoys being outrageous." Seto appeared to have settled down from enraged to irritated, which was a good shift. "Which he got both of."

"So…" They both looked up at Mokuba. "Pegasus is still crazy, normal, the party was cool until the kidnapping, also sadly normal for us." Seto rubbed his face and she cracked a small smile. "Having established this are we going to talk about the fact that Sarah is a hard core criminal? Super neat, didn't see that coming at all."

Mortified, she said nothing, her smile vanishing. She was in no way proud of herself for doing any of that. She began to twist her fingers unhappily as she looked down at her lap. "I don't think she finds it nearly as cool as you do." Seto said, finally relaxing to a certain degree, his fingers tapping on the arm of his chair.

"Ah, I'm just teasing." Mokuba caljolled. He reached over and patted her shoulder in a friendly way, but her stomach was bunching with anxiety.

"I needed money. I didn't want to have to sell myself." She whispered, which was really more for Seto than Mokuba, although he also heard it. Kaiba hadn't been wrong about that assumption at all. "I didn't know what else to do but steal. Foster care is horrible. I was afraid of what would happen to me after what some of the other kids told me at the crisis center."

"Sell yoursel-" Mokuba stopped mid-question as he realized what she was saying. All the teasing was gone in an instant. Out of the corner of her eye she could see he looked both terribly uncomfortable and disgusted at once.

To her surprise Seto leaned forward and gently adjusted the jacket around her shoulders. "You won't ever have to worry about that again." He said, his voice calm. "We'll be home in a few hours and no one will be able to put you anywhere you don't want to be."

She nodded, looking up at him. "Okay."

He patted her face a little awkwardly, but he meant to be comforting. "Relax." He said, standing up. "Even if he calls the authorities we'll be in international airspace well before they can do anything. They won't be able to get you back here without a significant fight, and I doubt they'll think it's worth it for three months of your time."

"That's probably true." She agreed hesitantly, although she thought he was neglecting all the laws she had broken both here and Japan. It wasn't just about her running away.

"It's very true." He told her confidently, before turning his attention to his brother. "Did you eat at the party? There should be food on board." He and Mokuba headed toward the back to look for it when his brother told him he hadn't and she collapsed back into her seat, her adrenaline crashing now that they were well away from there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later and Mokuba and Roland had both drifted off to sleep on opposite ends of the now darkened aircraft, the lights having been dimmed dramatically to allow everyone to rest and try to acclimate to the time difference between the two sides of the globe. She was sitting quietly staring out the window, too worried about what Pegasus might do even with Seto's reassurances to think about sleeping. Even if her government didn't think it was worth the fight Japan's might. It would be no real issue for them to deport her and bar her from the country for the rest of her life. The thought upset her unbearably, and not because she had made a life for herself there. There was more to it than that now and she knew it. The more part was sitting a few feet away typing quietly on his laptop, working on she wasn't sure what.

She had thought, foolishly no doubt, that she had been hiding her feelings well, or at least she had hoped she had. She knew better than to show them, or to allow herself any sort of hope or expectation where he, or anyone else, was concerned. She had learned quickly and early that few, if any, people would ever care for her in any meaningful way. When she moved here she had known she would need to make him care, if only for her skills, even before she met him. She would need to make herself valuable in the only way she knew how in order to be kept. That hadn't bothered her, it hadn't been an issue that she would need to be the best to be wanted or needed by him. That had been part and parcel of the deal. He had demanded perfection and she had given it, working long hours and learning languages faster than she ever had before, pushing herself to her limits. But it had been worth it to keep her job and her livelihood. At least at first.

Now she would be lying to herself if she said that was true. It was more than a job now, more than a way to survive, far from it. She was enmeshed with him now, so tangled up that she could no more tell where her happiness started and his ended. It seemed impossible for her to be happy when he was in a mood, and distracting in the extreme when he was bothered or upset. She knew that it wasn't normal, that it should be nothing more than a crush, but it was so far beyond that she was baffled by what she was feeling. This, whatever nameless thing it was, it felt like it was more than her, more than what she was capable of doing, or feeling, or giving. It felt old and new at once, and none of those thoughts made any sort of sense. What was more was that she clearly wasn't hiding it as well as she thought. Oh, Pegasus had spies, but he had seen it too, seen it in the way she interacted with Seto, seen it in the way she smiled at him, seen it when she had refused to tell him anything even with the threat of her entire existence over her head.

Catching the reflection of her own trouble gaze in the window she sighed softly and tried to push it all away. There was nothing to be done now but wait and worry, which was no doubt what Pegasus had wanted to begin with. She wondered if he had also anticipated them fleeing before she could get her clothes, because this outfit wasn't exactly made to travel in. She supposed she wouldn't put vindictiveness past him after their meeting. Reaching up to her hair she began to take it down as the updo began to irritate her, tight as it was, and at least it gave her something to do. Pulling bobby pins from hair she slipped them into the pocket of his jacket one at a time as her hair fell down around her face and neck one gently curled lock at a time. Ten minutes later and she had fished the last one out, putting it away before starting to carefully unbraid one of the three parts of her hair she had twisted to get it up this way. Her hair was so thick she had to tuck it up somewhere and braids had been an easy solution.

She she got the strands free she ran her fingers through it one last time to get it all to lay down, although she knew it would take a shampoo or two to get it straight again after all the curling and product she put into it. All at once she felt eyes on her and turned, catching Seto observing her quietly, his laptop shut and sitting in the seat next to him. Never one to be embarrassed he didn't look away when she caught him staring, he simply kept watching her with those thoughtful navy eyes of his. Caught off guard, and feeling as if he had watched her do something scandalous or explicit she turned her attention toward her hands, her cheeks heating up as she began playing with the last bobbypin. A moment later and she heard him shift and then he eased down next to her, the heat of his body radiating toward her.

"I won't let anyone take you away from me." He said softly, reaching up and tucking a curl behind her ear with the utmost gentleness. "You don't need to worry."

She looked up at him, knowing her cheeks were flushed, and cursing her fair skin. "This is my mess, not yours." She told him, keeping her voice low as well. "I always knew I might get caught, but it was worth the gamble." Guilt curled up in her belly. "But I never thought I would drag anyone else into it with me. I should have thought of that, of what it would make you look like if anyone found out, of the position it would put you in." She shook her head, angry at herself as she shoved the small metal wire away. "I should have known better. I should have left as soon as-" She caught the last words before they could tumble out, having nearly said as soon as she knew she loved him. "I should go now." She finished at last, turning her head to look out the window, feeling sick and hurt at the only solution she could see to this. The only way she saw to keep him out of her trouble. "I can stay until you find a new translator."

"I don't want a new translator." He told her. "I want you."

"This time last year you would have been happy to be rid of me." She whispered, seeing him watching her in the glass, appearing torn between exasperation and concern.

"I never would have been happy to be rid of you." He told her. "I won't let you quit." He said the last part as if it were an order, or a foregone conclusion, and she wasn't even surprised he expected to get his way.

His arrogance had her sighing and turning back to him. "Seto, you can't make me stay-" He slid his hands up so he was cupping her cheeks and she stuttered to a halt.

His thumb caressed her cheek and her breath caught in her throat as she stared straight up into his eyes. She could feel heat coursing through her as he held her and began to tremble as her senses went haywire. He stared back down at her for an endless moment, with the same unusual tenderness she had seen in him the day he took her to her apartment. "Stay with me." He murmured, and it was so strange, to hear such a heartfelt request from him. Breath hitching she wasn't sure she was capable of saying no to him. She certainly didn't want to, and felt very much as if she had been waiting to say yes to this question since he stopped next to her desk her second day in Japan. Unable to speak, and feeling fully overwhelmed, she nodded jerkily as she tilted her head back on instinct. His navy eyes softened as serenity appeared to wash over him. "Good." He whispered in satisfaction before dipping his head down and pressing his warm lips tenderly against hers.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she kissed him back, butterflies erupting in her stomach. When she responded he deepened the kiss ever so slightly, and she pressed up into him, shifting in her seat to get closer, one of her hands settling nervously on his shoulder. Seto let out a soft hum of approval in the back of his throat before one of his hands slid back into her hair, tangling in the curls. Shivering all the way down her body she let out a little sound of protest when he gently pulled back. His breathing was ragged as he stared down at her with his gentle eyes and she was sure she appeared as dazed as she felt. Setting back in the seat he gathered her against him, tucking her head under his chin. More than half dazed she let her head rest on him and heard his heart beating hard in his chest as he reached up and carefully stroked her hair. Small tingles ran from where his hand was down her back and she relaxed into him fully. She wasn't even angry he had somehow gotten his way again, although she really wondered how he was always able to pull that off. She supposed she could worry about that later though, because she was too pleased to do anything but sit quietly against him as they flew home.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Frontier Market

Having returned to Japan a week ago from that mess of a conference he had found himself continually off balance and was berating himself up and down internally, refusing to admit he was far out of his depth. None of this would have happened if he hadn't been so careless, or so damn impulsive. He had known without a doubt Pegasus was going to try something, because he always did. No matter what that lunatic was involved in it always blew up in his face, one hundred percent of the time. But for some reason he had gone complacent the last few hours, thinking the whole thing was over and they would soon be done. He had known something was wrong within minutes of her leaving his side after dinner, and not just because Sarah wasn't one to dally. As he was sipping at his wine and wondering if he should even be drinking in front of her knowing her history, and keeping half his attention on Mokuba, who was chatting with a few other duelists, a pulse of magic snapped at him from the millennium rod, which he had tucked surreptitiously at the small of his back.

His head had come up at once as he began searching for Sarah in the throng. He didn't see her and the magic continued to pulse warnings at him. He heard his blue eyes snarling and hissing in rage in his head and knew something was amiss even as he wondered that he was able to know that, or that Sarah was somehow communicating with him through the millennium rod. As soon as he was aware there was a problem he was moving, striding purposefully across the hall in the direction she had gone and trying to ignore the panic of losing her so he could think properly. Roland had spotted him and chased after him with his brother in tow, no doubt more worried to leave him unattended than taking him with them into trouble. It took him less than fifteen minutes to find her all told, and he had never been so angry in his life, which was really saying something. He had never been so close to actually killing someone as he was in those few minutes where he could sense her fear and anger, but couldn't get to her. When he did find her, quickly knocking out several of Pegasus' men, it was easy to tell she had been unsettled. She was standing across the room from the other man, wisely keeping her distance. From the way she was holding herself when he stormed in he could see she had gone all out defiant, but there was real wariness in her eyes and he was enraged all over again as it was more than obvious Pegasus was playing mind games with her.

His only thought had been to get her out as quickly as he could. He knew the longer they stayed the worse it would become and the more power Pegasus would gain. The man thrived on chaos and knew how to use it to his advantage. After warning the man off in no uncertain terms he had hustled them all out, intent on putting as much space between them as possible and knowing damn well something had happened by the self-satisfied smirk on his face. Sarah had followed him at once, which told him a great deal, mostly that she was frightened. His anger over that, over her getting snatched right out from under his nose, of not protecting her properly, didn't diminish in the slightest as they went to the airport. When he saw the bruises on her arms he thought his head was going to explode, especially when she shrugged them off with hardly a thought. That she was used to being manhandled was loathsome and his urge to retaliate nearly overwhelmed him.

When she told him that Pegasus had threatened to inform the authorities about her identity he knew he had to get her out of the country as fast as possible, his own feelings about vengeance be damned. Oh, he was sure he had wiped her record clean, but that didn't mean Pegasus hadn't found a way around that. It also didn't mean the other man was actually going to do that, but he had been burned before and there was no way anyone was taking her away from him. He would be more than happy to drop his entire fortune to be sure that wouldn't happen, although he doubted buying people off to ensure that would cost nearly that much. It was also clear Sarah didn't believe that she was going to wiggle out of this with no repercussions, and wasn't expecting him to help her out of it either. But she hadn't argued with him, appearing too embarrassed by her past, and by his brother finding out about it, to push the issue. She had spent over an hour simply looking out the window of the plane, clearly ruminating silently. He hadn't liked that at all and once the others were asleep he had gone to her, fully intending to assure her that he would take care of this one way or another if Pegasus made good on his threat. Instead she had sidelined him with her decision to leave, meaning to protect his reputation by being nowhere near him.

The thought of losing her threw him utterly off balance and he had reacted without really thinking anything through. For several minutes on the plane he had been sure to his bones she was about to slip right through his fingers a second time. He had no idea what Pegasus had really said to her, but whatever it was it had spooked her enough to have her seriously contemplating running straight out of Japan and his life. He had acted before she could sink her teeth into the thought, knowing if she did she would be gone faster than he could blink once they landed. Panicked, he had refused to allow it, refused to let one of the few things he truly loved to get away from him. Having no solid way to logically argue her out of it, having been in no way prepared for such an action, he had simply asked her to stay. To say he had been surprised that she had agreed so readily, with no other reason or incentive other than his honest request would be an understatement. He had, by some small miracle, managed to lure Sarah right into his arms. He honestly wasn't sure how he had managed that, or what he had done to deserve it.

But she had agreed, and those wide, amazingly alluring eyes of hers, the one thing he was always sure could bring him to his knees, had been so full of welcoming desire that he had finally given into the nearly constant impulse he had to kiss her. Her reaction to that had far exceeded any expectation he'd ever had. She had all but melted into him, shifting fully into his space as her warm lips pressed eagerly against his. An odd combination of absolute tenderness and raging lust slammed through him. Fully unprepared for that level of emotion, even with what she brought out of him on a daily basis by being near him, he had forced himself to gently break the kiss for fear he would lose himself in her right there. Even with his mind in a blank fog he knew that a plane with both his sleeping brother and head of security wasn't the best place to let this go further, and he was more than convinced it was a very short step indeed to losing any and all control he had and peeling his jacket right back off her. What was more, he was very sure Sarah was about as able to slow them down as he was.

And despite his wants and fears of her leaving he shouldn't have touched her, not in a place where there were other people. He knew better. He knew he couldn't control himself around her when she got too close. He could barely control himself when she was simply in the same room as him, let alone when she was pressed up against him so intimately. His mind flashed back to Egypt, to his dark bedroom in the royal palace, to the night he had with her in his last life with her blushing and moaning softly below him. He tried to banish the memory as she cuddled up against his side, because he cherished it as much as it shamed him. Kisara had been the priest's, and unlike him Sarah had no memory of their past together. It wasn't right to think of her that way, when she hadn't offered that part of herself to him in this life. He respected her too much to actively seek out the memory, because it felt wrong and invasive to him no matter how much he wanted her, but with her face nuzzled against his neck and her silky hair tickling his nose he could think of nothing else.

It took all the considerable will power he had to do no more than hold her firmly against him and tangle his fingers in her soft hair. Neither of them spoke, he wasn't sure if anything else needed to be said, and Sarah had relaxed fully against him with the sound of the engines eventually lulling her to sleep in his arms. He had held her for several hours, relishing the warm weight of her against him and breathing in the subtle smell of spices and vanilla from her perfume as his entire being down to his very soul had relaxed. Eventually, he had gently and reluctantly shifted her off him, knowing that if they stayed like this much longer either Mokuba or Roland would wake up and see them. That would have been compromising in the extreme and he wouldn't let it happen. Sarah had mumbled a dissent in her sleep as he shifted her away and he asked silently for control as he propped her carefully in her seat. Forcing himself up he had gotten a blanket out of a cabinet in the back and covered her with it before returning to his own place several feet away from her.

Less than five minutes later Roland had begun to stir and he glanced over at her one last time, regretting the separation. The rest of the trip had been uneventful, and a few hours later they were back in Japan, all of them jetlagged to some extent. Sarah had sent him several apprehensive glances on the plane after she woke up alone, and another one as they dropped her off at her apartment, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. It had been an easy thing to react the way he had on the jet, but now that the fear of her vanishing was gone he wasn't clear on what he should be doing. It was obvious she was anxious, and he wanted to soothe her, but as much as he hated to admit it he wasn't entirely at ease either. He had no real experience with a relationship, and he knew well enough that their past lives weren't much to go on. Despite the love affair between the priest and Kisara they had been thrown together as much as anything, with no option other than to survive. Now, well they weren't exactly fighting for their lives, and he was fairly sure he should be doing something beyond what he was, which was shying around the issue.

The last few days had been strained and awkward, and he could only blame himself for it. At least twice now she had tried to initiate something, and idiot that he was he hadn't realized until several hours later after she had left his presence. When he worked out what had happened the second time he had nearly slammed his head into the nearest wall, cursing himself for being a fool. Now, it was very clear, she thought he regretted the entire incident and wanted nothing to do with her, at least not romantically. Sarah had backed off completely after the second refusal, and was walking around him on eggshells for the first time, no doubt convinced that he had toyed with her emotions to keep her at his company, or had simply changed his mind. Knowing he needed to address this before it got completely out of hand didn't have him jumping to take care of the problem the way things normally did. Instead he found himself hesitating, and badly, for fear he truly wouldn't be able to control himself once this started. Sarah certainly deserved to be treated like her own person, but in his mind she was so very much also Kisara, because she was, that he knew he wasn't being fair to her. He also knew, as much as he was loath to admit weakness, that a part of him was terrified this might end badly and he would lose what they had now, which was a deep and meaningful friendship that had no equal in his life.

So, in a complete role reversal now, with Sarah trying to be bold and him hovering around her nervously they had come to an uncomfortable and unwanted stalemate. The worst of it was all he wanted was her and he simply kept sabotaging himself. The strain of the thing was showing too, which bothered him even more. Yesterday on his way home he had been rubbing his temples tiredly, really trying to work up his nerve and feeling very guilty indeed when Sarah had invited him over for dinner and he had to refuse due to a meeting. He saw the last of the hope she had been holding onto the last few days dimming in her eyes as she gave him a falsely bright smile and let him off the hook at once. She hadn't even asked what the meeting was for, something that would normally happen, she simply gathered the paperwork they had been working on and left quietly without teasing him or looking back. He knew in that instant that she would never bring this up again, she'd been rejected too many times and was too used to being rejected. It had likely taken all the courage she had to try this a third time and she was done now, saving what was left of her self-confidence. As he tried to work out how to salvage the situation, which was rapidly spiraling downward, Roland had cleared his throat quietly as he drove. "Flowers."

He glanced up, his hand coming down away from his eyes, not understanding that statement at all. "What?"

"Flowers." Roland repeated, his eyes firmly on the driveway as they pulled up to the mansion. "Although she would probably prefer chocolate with the way she loves food." He said nothing, thrown by the unasked for input and irritated that he had been caught out. But Roland said nothing else and he got out of the car, grudgingly admitting that wasn't the worst idea. Perhaps a more traditional sort of gesture would be what she wanted. Rolling his shoulders as he handed his briefcase off to one of his staff he began to look up a place that would deliver chocolates to her apartment. While it might be nice to get them at work he was still worried about her reputation, and figured keeping this as private as possible was the wiser thing to do.

Finding a gourmet confections shop with excellent reviews in downtown Domino he quickly ordered an assortment of chocolate covered fruits he was sure she would like on rush delivery. Sarah had a fondness for all food, but a special love of fruit. It was much cheaper to buy in the states, where here it was more of a luxury item. She rarely bought it for herself, but he had seen her eating large bowls of it at breakfast while they were in San Francisco, clearly trying to sate the craving while she could. Pleased it would be at her apartment in only a few hours he hoped the gesture would smooth things over, although he'd heard nothing from her that evening or this morning once he got to work.

Turning the entire thing over in his head again, worried the gift had somehow backfired despite his best intentions as she always fought him when he tried to buy things for her, he walked up to his office from one of his labs. He had spent the last few hours replicating his new chip with one of his teams so they could do it without his help and hopefully get a few dozen made while he worked on getting a manufacturer set up to mass produce them. His demonstration at Industrial Illusions had been such a success that he had a request to demonstrate his new system to a larger audience while the product was still new. His marketing team had urged him to agree to the mass demand from multiple sources, both domestic and international, and he saw nothing to do but agree if he wanted to continue the hype. Considering his stock options had jumped up several points since the conference he knew he needed to keep pushing. Having quickly settled on holding the event at Kaiba Land, as it was the obvious choice having space, dueling arenas, and being owned by him, he had sent out several offers out for a dueling opponent. He was eager to duel, having been out of the competitive scene for well over a year and a half now, and wondered who was brave enough to accept his challenge. No matter who accepted he would be more than ready to meet them in them a week from today.

Striding past Yuka, who was typing furiously on her computer, he saw his office door was open. Knowing only a few people dared to enter his office when he wasn't there, and even fewer made it past Yuka, he was hardly surprised when he found Sarah inside. She was standing in front of the tall windows behind his desk looking out at the storm that was blowing through Domino. His office afforded her a wonderful view of the storm front as it was high above most other buildings in the city. Her attention was fully on the sky as thunder rumbled, sending a low reverberation through the entire building. As he stepped fully inside lightning flashed, lighting her up as she stood there in a knee length navy pencil skirt and white, long sleeved blouse. Her blue heels raised her height a few inches and a strand of her hair had escaped the neat bun she had it in and curved appealing behind her ear. She looked stunning.

Hiding the thought with ease he memorized the moment, storing it in great detail in his head to keep. "Enjoying the view?" He asked casually as he headed to his desk, waiting to see how she was going to react, but hopeful as she was here on her own.

She turned her attention to him and smiled in welcome, making his stomach drop pleasantly as her eyes glittered happily. "I love thunderstorms." She told him. "The lightning is beautiful."

He couldn't disagree and wasn't surprised she had a fondness for the flashing light with what she was. He wondered what she would think if she knew she could control it. "I wasn't expecting to see you this afternoon. Did you come up here just to look?" He asked casually, hoping to draw more informative out, or really just get confirmation that he had done this properly and fixed the problem.

Her eyes twinkled, no doubt sensing what he was really after the way she always did. "I won't lie, it is a fully self-serving reason, although it's not the view."

He sat down and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair as he turned to face her. He felt his stomach unknotting at her return to cheerfulness. "Is that so?"

"Don't look at me that way." She pouted. "It's a totally innocent request." He would have been honestly shocked if it was anything else. He couldn't imagine her asking for anything crazy, despite the ease with which he could get nearly anything, and no doubt would get her despite his firm promise to himself that he would never allow such a thing to happen with anyone. He raised his eyebrow, taunting her anyway, because this was an amusing game she had started and that lip of hers was driving him mad in the best way. And by her reaction to him, which was friendly and flirtatious by any standard, he was sure his small but pointed gift had gone over well. She puffed at him, but he refused to blink and she pouted more before speaking, trying to win out. "Can I go with you to your duel?"

He blinked, having not expected that. "Go with me?"

"Mokuba said you're challenging duelists to show off the new duel disk here." He wondered who his brother's spy was to have found that out already as they had only just settled on a place and time an hour ago. He was impressed with the efficiency, and that Mokuba was using his cell phone at school. They would need to chat about that later. "Can I come and watch? I've never seen you duel, and I'm guessing tickets are going to be hard to come by once word gets out."

That stroked his ego pleasantly, although he did his best to hide it. No need for her to know that he wanted her admiration, even if it was only an exhibition match. He turned back toward his computer, pleased all the way through. "If you'd like. It won't be much of a duel unless Yugi accepts, and I doubt he will, not for an exhibition match that isn't worth ranking."

"Yay!" She chirped excitedly, somehow daintily bouncing in her heels and clearly not caring in the slightest who he dueled as long as she got to see. "How cool! I've been wanting to watch you duel for forever!"

His lips twitched up at the corners as he logged into his server, continuing the friendly goading. "I wouldn't be so excited if I were you. You'll have to sit with Mokuba at the very front. I know how the two of you dislike one another."

"Oh please." She said, moving so she could see him better. "So who are you going to duel?"

"I've extended the invitation to several people, but in all likelihood Bandit Keith. He's been out of competition too long to come back in if he doesn't bite at this. He needs the publicity." He wasn't overly excited to be honest. The man wasn't exactly what he would call a challenge. Anyone that lost to Wheeler was simply a sad excuse for a duelist. "But Keith isn't much of a duelist. The real thing on display is going to be the new duel disk and you've already seen that."

"I thought he was the number one American duelist?" Sarah said, sitting down on the other side of his desk. "Doesn't that mean he's good?"

"He was for about six months five years ago." He agreed, knowing she didn't keep up with it and guessing she had heard that on the news at some point. "But Pegasus beat him and so did Wheeler and Rebecca Hawkins. She's still the highest ranked duelist in your home country now." He shook his head. He didn't mind Rebecca, actually enjoyed her cleverness in a general sort of way, but she could be unbelievably annoying when given the chance to talk for more than three minutes about herself. He was rather surprised Mokuba spent as much time with her as he did as his brother was rarely interested in those that boasted. "Which I'm sure she'd told you at least a hundred times when she's been over. The lot of you are a loud bunch. Do they teach you to brag in school or is it bred into you?"

"I'm going to be a citizen here soon you know." She informed him proudly. "And then you can't tease me about my obnoxious American tendencies anymore."

"I assure you that I can." He smirked, knowing that would never get old even if she very rarely conformed to those stereotypes, and she huffed at him with false irritation. Still, he was very pleased with the news. If she was applying to be a citizen rather than renewing her visa it meant she was planning on staying and he had successfully convinced her not to run off. "I didn't realize you were going to change your citizenship."

She smiled brightly. "I have all my paperwork in." She informed him, happiness in her voice. "I have to pass the test next, but they only give it once a year. I have been approved to take it though."

"When is it?" He asked.

"September." She told him. "Three more months and then I can try."

He wasn't worried about that. She was good at test taking. "I'm sure you'll pass. I can help you study if you'd like."

"I'd really appreciate that. Mokuba is the worst tutor in the world."

"Imagine that." He said dryly. He would be much more serious about it than his brother. He wanted Sarah to stay here. Having her citizenship would make that easier in any number of ways. "Once the rainy season passes we can start. I doubt we need to spend three months on it. You're smarter than you look."

"Hey!" She protested, laughter in her voice. "You're lucky you let me come to your duel, you rotten thing."

His lip twitched up and he opened his e-mail, sending her a sidelong glance. He was feeling a bit more confident now, with her pleased with him and them chatting the way they always did. "Would you like to come over tonight?" He asked, trying to keep this as low risk as possible. He thought perhaps this would be better for both of them if they eased into it. He thought the gift made his intentions clear without forcing any sort of firm expectations on her. He could let her decide what pace to go at, which would make him feel much more comfortable. It was also now clear that he was interested, the traditional display of romance taking care of that. He supposed sometimes stereotypical social interactions could be beneficial.

"I, um, have an appointment right after work." She replied, looking contrite. "Would it be okay if it was later in the evening? It took me a week to get it scheduled at a time I could go."

He shrugged, not caring when she came. "That's fine."

"Okay." She agreed, relaxing again. "Maybe you could try to teach me to play duel monsters? You could at least practice on me and get warmed up again."

He raised an eyebrow, having thought she had decided against that since he hadn't heard anything about it in several months. "You want me to teach you?"

"I mean, you taught Mokuba how to play really well." She told him. "So I'm sure you can make me at least mediocre at the game." She smiled a little shyly. "It looks much more fun with the duel disks than when it's just the cards. I'd actually really like to try that."

"We can go play in one of the arenas at Kaiba Land." He told her, thinking that would be a fun way to spend a few hours. Generally they were booked weeks if not a month in advance, but they could simply go after the park closed, or he could boot someone out. Perhaps Wheeler had it reserved.

"Maybe after a few lessons with you coaching me through it." She agreed, looking pleased. "I'd like that though."

"Alright." He agreed easily, liking that idea. "We could-" His phone rang and he sighed, irritated by the interruption.

Sarah smiled at him and got up. "I have things to do too. I'll see you about seven-thirty?"

He nodded as he picked the phone up as she walked out of his office, much more chipper than he'd seen her in days. Relieved he had smoothed everything over he went back to work, more than content to see her that evening.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later and he was sitting in the kitchen waiting for her as he shuffled a deck of cards. Mokuba was half inside the refrigerator looking for he didn't know what and muttering to himself about the positive attributes of grape soda. Shaking his head he began to sort some cards out for her to use, intending to at least give her a solid starter deck. Once she was used to using it she could always build out on it, or start her own deck from scratch. As he set a trap card into a possible pile Mokuba emerged with an armful of items he was clearly intending to eat. "You shouldn't be eating this late." He told his brother, searching the pile of cards for a specific one. "You're going to have nightmares."

Mokuba grunted as he headed out of the kitchen. "It's fine as long as I don't eat after ten." He glanced up, not sure he believed that. Shortly after their parents died and they'd moved in with Gozaburo his brother had begun having night terrors. After several weeks he'd worked out they were substantially less likely to occur if his brother didn't eat late at night. After that he had cut his brother off from food after eight and the problem had resolved itself. However, he had stopped monitoring him in the last year or so, knowing Mokuba understood this happened. His brother sent him an exasperated look as he shoved the door open with his shoulder. "Nii-san, it's fine. I'm starving."

Figuring it was better not to argue with a ravenous teeneager he turned his attention back to the deck, although he wondered at how much his brother had been eating over the last few weeks. He had no doubt he was about to go through a growth spurt. He wasn't surprised really, both of their parents had been tall, especially their father. He had certainly sprung up at fifteen, and Mokuba was closer to that than he would like. He had no doubt Mokuba would be as tall as him given some time. No sooner did the door swing to a stop than it opened again. Sarah came in looking over her shoulder. Shaking her head as she came in she smiled at him, although she appeared distracted. "You should really just instal a fridge in his room, I think he walked out with most of the food that was in it."

His lips twitched up, pleased that she was here. "It's not a bad idea, but then when would I see him?"

"That's a good point." She replied and he reached over and pulled out the chair beside him. Sarah took the silent invitation and slid into the seat. "Sorry I'm late. That took longer than I thought it would. What's all this?" She asked, looking over the table that had a dozen neat piles of cards.

"I'm putting a deck together for you, but I'm not sure what sort of cards you like."

"Oh." She replied, her eyes moving over the cards. "I guess I never thought about it. I was using whatever Mokuba gave me."

He indicated the table, not at all surprised to hear that having looked through the deck she lost with. "Which ones do you like here?"

She looked them over for a few seconds before slowly reaching out and tapping a monster card. It was a Golem Dragon, which he found to be an interesting choice. Sarah's hand hovered over it for a moment before drifting to the left and tapping the Lady of Dragons before darting up and pointing to a Petite Dragon card. She drew her hand back, but there was something strange in her expression. He picked up the three cards and set them in front of her. "What is it?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Sorry, I was thinking about something else." She looked up and smiled at him, pushing whatever she was thinking about away and giving him her full attention. "What kind of cards do you like?"

"Most decks have a different variety of cards in them to balance them out, but dragons are my favorite." He told her. "It looks like we have that in common."

"Neat, you can show me how to utilize them properly." Glancing back over she picked up a magic card. "This one looks cool too." She tilted it a little so she could see the holographic background and read it. "Spell shattering arrow."

Seeing a tendency already he began to pick up cards rapidly and put them in a deck for her. "You may be a defensive player." He told her.

"Defensive?"

"You have the patience for it." He told her, thinking this might be why she wasn't doing well against Mokuba. "None of Mokuba's cards are really meant for that, he's an offensive player." He explained. "It might be why you had some difficulty against him."

Her eyes twinkled. "You mean why he trounced me?"

"I was trying to be nice about it."

She snorted at that and shifted so she was facing him, trying to see how he was organizing things. "You're going too fast. What is it you're doing?"

"Tell me how you worked out how to get here."

"Seto, I've been here like a million times now."

He rolled his eyes. "I mean how you worked out how to get a visa, how you worked out what you needed to do to falsify your records."

She frowned at the question, but answered him. "I mean, it was just a series of steps wasn't it?" She shrugged. "All you really need to do it is money and a hacker. The hacker was the hard part I suppose, only because I had to find people that knew about one that was good enough to do what I needed."

He nodded. "And how long did it take you from the time you ran to the time you walked into the school? Four months?"

"Give or take a few days." She agreed.

"A patient risk taker." He mused, having already known that but not considering how that could work for her while playing. He began to change some cards out. "That's an odd mix, but it could be very effective in the arena."

"To be clear I really have no interest in playing in the arena unless it's against you for fun, or you make me good enough to at least stand up to Mokuba."

"That's no excuse to have a poor deck." He informed her.

"Right." She agreed, clearly humoring him. "So what have you got there?" She pulled his hands over so she could see. "Yup, looks like duel monster cards."

"Are you amused with yourself?" He asked her, charmed with her silliness despite himself.

"For sure." She agreed, her thumb running lightly over his fingers as she inspected the cards. He was immediately distracted by the touch and stilled, all his senses trained on her. "Thanks for showing me how this works."

"It's not a problem." He said, trying to keep his voice steady, which he really felt shouldn't be this difficult. He had been in meetings with a dangerous and crafty assortment of people and never felt this nervous. Clearly, something was wrong with him.

"How long have you been playing?" She asked him curiously.

"Since I was ten." He replied, offering the newly made deck to her.

"Wow." She said, impressed. "I bet you have all kinds of neat cards." She began to look through what he gave her slowly, examining the script below the images to work out what all the cards did. "Do you have any of the really rare ones people talk about?"

"One." He agreed. "Although I'm sure you already know that having been to Kaiba Land."

She smiled as she looked more closely at the Golem Dragon, clearly having taken a fancy to it for whatever reason. "You mean the dragon you have all over the place? It does look pretty fearsome. What's it called?"

"The blue eyes white dragon."

Sarah stilled all over, halfway through tucking the dragon to the back of the deck to see the next card. Slowly, she looked up at him, her eyes guarded. "That's its name? The white dragon?"

He shrugged, wondering what had surprised her about that. "The blue eyes white dragon." He corrected, unsure as to why that had her full interest.

She turned her attention back down. "It must be a good card if you like it so much."

"It's one of the most powerful monsters in the game." He agreed, still watching her. "There are only three of them."

"Who has the other two?" She asked conversationally.

"I do."

She looked back up, frowning slightly. "You have all three?"

"Yes." He agreed.

"That must have been hard to do. Did you buy all of them?"

"Two of them." He agreed, having never told anyone about this. "But the first one I got came inside a small booster set that Industrial Illusions had been advertising. I had bought it on a whim right after taking over Kaiba Corp."

She shook her head in amazement. "What are the odds of that?" He opened his mouth to tell her and she laughed. "It was a rhetorical questions, Seto, I don't actually want to know the odds." He huffed and she went on, her eyes dancing. "That's pretty amazing though." She set the cards down between them. "I think you better just explain what these mean to me so we can get to the part where I beat you."

He smirked. "Where _you_ beat _me?_ "

She waved her hand. "There is a real possibility you could have a stroke midway through and I could take you." He laughed at that, amused, and she grinned. "So what would you do first?"

He began to walk her through what each card did and she listened attentively, nodding when she understood and asking questions when she didn't. Finding that this was rather a lot more engaging than he had expected, teaching her, he was quietly pleased when she scooted her chair closer to him so they were right next to one another. Her shoulder brushed his as they spoke and soon he was distracted from the task as her proximity drove him out of his mind. Sarah seemed oblivious to what she was doing to him and was leaning over the table slightly, moving cards about as she worked out combinations that would be helpful to her.

The smell of her perfume found him and drew him in as she shifted a card away. "What about this?"

He glanced over, barely looking at what she had out in front of her. "That would be fine."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Really? I don't see how-" She raised her head and froze where she was when she realized every iota of his attention was now on her rather than the game. Having been caught out didn't bother him in the slightest and he watched in fascination as her cheeks flushed pink. Bashfully she ducked her head back down, her fingers playing with one of the cards she had been studying. Utterly drawn in by her retreat he reached out and played with a strand of her hair, the same one that had been taunting him behind her ear in his office, wrapping it around one of his fingers. As he played with the silky lock, fascinated by how soft it was, he saw goosebumps tingle down her arms as his own heart rate increased noticeably.

Gathering herself she tilted her head back up so they were facing one another. Sarah's breath caught in her throat. "Seto, I need to tel-"

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off as Mokuba slammed his shoulder into the door of the kitchen. He let his hand drop at once, leaning back as he feigned a causal interaction. Sarah's face went from pink to red as she dropped her head down, pretending to be fascinated with the cards on the table. His brother took no notice of them at all as he went back to the fridge and pulled the door open, rummaging around almost desperately. "Nii-san, why are we out of arare?"

He tried to push his frustrated annoyance at the interruption down. It wasn't as if Mokuba knew what was going on, and he was sure if he did he never would have come in here. He and Sarah had been spending time alone for months now in a completely innocent and friendly way. This wasn't exactly out of the norm as far as his brother knew. "I don't know." He replied dryly. "How many pounds of it have you eaten today?"

Mokuba leaned out of the fridge and leveled him with an unimpressed stare. "I have so few needs."

He rolled his eyes. "Then tell Ando and I'm sure he'll have your body weight's worth of rice snacks here by tomorrow."

"How does that help me now?" Mokuba grumbled, shoving his head back in the fridge. "I'm dying, you have no sympathy." He threw the doors closed dramatically. "I'm ordering takeout. Do either of you want anything?"

Considering he ate less than two hours ago he was fine. "No."

"No thank you." Sarah replied, her attention still straight down.

"Killjoys." He told them as he strolled back out. "Have fun not eating."

He sighed heavily, wondering how Mokuba managed to inherit so much drama. When the door swung closed again Sarah glanced back up shyly. "It's late, maybe I should go."

That wasn't at all what he wanted even if it was getting on in the evening. They had been at the table for nearly two hours now and she hadn't gotten here until nearly eight. Unsure of how to keep her here he set his apprehension aside and set his hand on her cheek, stroking her hair back out of her face. "If that's what you want." He agreed, sticking to his internal agreement to let this go at whatever pace she wanted no matter how frustrating that might be for him. He saw her hesitating and satisfaction filled him. Clearly, she very much liked being right here with him no matter how unsure she was. Leaning in slowly in case she changed her mind he kissed her carefully, fully aware that he needed to control himself for fear of rushing her. He was sure, knowing her the way he did, that if he made her uncomfortable she could very well shut this down completely.

But instead of hesitance she reacted at once, kissing him back eagerly. A sound of surprise rose in the back of his throat and was muffled against her lips. At the sound Sarah pulled back, her cheeks flushing even brighter at her own daring, but he caught her as soon as he took a breath and pulled her face back to his, anything but bothered. She relaxed when he invited her back to him, and her hands slid up to his shoulders, holding onto him to keep her balance as she leaned forward. Disliking the awkward angle he let his hands drop to her waist and tugged her insistently toward him until she was in his lap. She settled there happily and after several mind spinning moments pulled back, breathing raggedly. He stared down at her as he tried to get his mind to start working again and she panted lightly, her eyes dark and full of lust. "I'm pretty sure everything I've ever read about anything mentions how bad an idea it is to date your boss."

"Fine." He agreed, his own breath coming out raggedly. "You're definitely fired this time."

"Seto!" She protested with laughter in her voice. "You're awful! And that's for sure sexual harassment!"

He pretended to consider that for a moment. "I can afford the lawsuit."

She shoved at his shoulder playfully, knowing he was teasing her. "You are the worst kind of person." She giggled.

Smiling, he kissed her again quickly, pulling back before he could lose himself. "And who says we're dating?" That brought her up short and she sent him a very unsure look. He soothed that over at once. "You haven't let me take you anywhere."

She tilted her head, causing her hair to slid to the side, her misgivings vanishing. "I can't very well let you if you haven't asked can I?"

He hummed, leaning in and pressing a kiss against her soft neck, which was taunting him in the best sort of way. A soft moan left her as she tilted her head back to make it easier, her fingers tightening over his shoulders. "Have dinner with me." He murmured between kisses.

"F-fine." She stuttered, clearly distracted. "But only if we go somewhere normal."

He hummed, wondering why she didn't want him to take her to any of the many nicer restaurants in Domino. But he could always bully her into something fancy later. "You just want an excuse to wear those ridiculous American jeans."

"You love the jeans." She whispered. "Admit it."

Pulling his head up he found her lips again and kissed her deeply. She sighed into him and he relaxed, tangling his hand in her hair and cradling the back of her head. It was much easier to get the angle he wanted this way. Sarah didn't seem to mind in the slightest as he experimented with the best way to kiss her, and when he finally pulled back looked as dazed as he felt. "Never." He replied, although it wasn't true in the slightest. He very much enjoyed seeing her in those pants, they hugged her hips beautifully. "We can go after my duel."

She smiled, pleased with that idea. "I would like that."

"So would I." He agreed.

Sarah turned her head, glancing at the clock on the stove. "I really should go." She told him, turning her attention back to him. "I have a meeting tomorrow at six-thirty. I'd hate to mess up your new marketing campaign for the duel disks because I was yawning my way through my translations." He understood, but was reluctant to let her go even as he nodded. Sarah darted in and kissed him again, her blush darkening as she slid off him. His hands followed her, lingering on her hips as long as they could. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked timidly.

He watched her with interest, baffled and charmed by her swings between shy sweetness and fiery boldness. "Yes."

She nodded, pleased. "Goodnight, Seto."

"Goodnight, Sarah." Her eyes twinkled at that and she left, slipping quietly out of the room. He sat there for a few moments gathering himself and very aware he was going to need a cold shower after that. This was certainly going to be a test of his resolve. Thankfully, he had more than his fair share of that, and this particular task was more than worth the effort.

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait! I was at a conference all last week and had no time to write. The next chapter should be out much more quickly :)


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Preferred Partner

They were hanging out in the large, lavishly furnished conference room at Kaiba Land that overlooked the theme park as Seto prepared for his duel. She left him alone as he sorted through his cards, making last minute adjustments, although Mokuba was hovering at his shoulder watching intently. She was captivated by the view however, and it had taken up all her attention. While the amusement park was interesting to look at on it's own she was currently amazed by the number of people amassing in it, which easily numbered in the thousands. From her vantage point a dozen floors up she could see the main causeway running from the entrance to the showcase arena. This conference room, Seto's favorite at this site she believed, was nestled between the two locations. And despite its central location it hadn't been made to appear overly noticeable. Really, unless you'd been here before you would think it was simply another floor of one of the managerial facilities that were scattered about.

As she stood in front of the large window a worker pushed a cart inside the room quietly. She glanced over and smiled at the man and he nodded at her as he began to set food out on a nearby table for the three of them to eat. Excited for a snack, as she hadn't eaten since late morning and it was now nearly seven, she left the worker alone to finish and pressed closer still to the window pane. "I'm glad I invested in bullet proof glass." Seto commented. "Normal glass wouldn't hold up against your pushing."

She was unmoved by his comment, not budging as she took in the festive, chaotic atmosphere below them. "This is nuts." She told him, really shocked that even more people were somehow funneling inside. "Are these events always so crowded?"

"Only the ones I'm at." Seto replied as he replaced one card in his main deck with another.

She shook her head at his egocentric reply, but let it go with the ease born of practice. There really was no changing him. "I'm not sure all these people are going to fit into the arena."

Seto hummed without worry as he continued to move his cards and Mokuba left his side, walking over to her. She noted that he was taller all at once, nearly as tall as her now, and was almost positive he hadn't been only a few days ago. She hadn't seen anyone grow five inches so fast before. No wonder he had been eating his way through the kitchen for the last few weeks, or why he had been complaining nearly continuously about starving to death. "Anyone that doesn't can watch from the big screens." He told her congenially, and she knew those were scattered all over the park. "I worked the whole thing out with the facility coordinator."

"Wow." She said quietly, truly impressed. Really, Mokuba was going to be a great vice president. "You have some mad organizational skills."

"I guess." Mokuba replied as he looked out over the throng of people. "Mostly it's just crowd control, and the way the park is designed helps out all by itself. All we really needed was some extra staff to keep things moving the way we want."

"I never realized how many people were into this." She informed him. "I mean, I knew on a logical level, but I never envisioned what a large portion of them would look like all mashed up in one place."

"Trust me, if we had an arena twice this size we would have filled it." Mokuba told her. "The tickets were sold out in less than five minutes once they went on sale. Seto is hugely popular in dueling circles and he hasn't played in so long people went wild. If you thought the display at Industrial Illusions went over well wait until this starts. The rumors about the new duel disk have been causing a ton of excitement, and the videos that leaked out on the web didn't really do it justice. This is going to be broadcast strait off Kaiba Corps main web page, not to mention on multiple syndicated television stations. The whole world is going to want one of these."

"That was the point of the thing." She agreed as she tore herself from the view to get some food, fully delighted by the small buffet that had been laid out for them. It was far too much for only three people, but for once she didn't fault the extravagance. "Are you excited?" She asked, directing the question at Seto.

"In a way." Seto replied. "The competition could be markedly better."

"Oh, come on." She wheedled, knowing that he was being stubborn about it just because it wasn't Yugi. At least she finally worked out why they hated one another so much. Seto did hate to lose more than anyone she had ever met and she had managed to get Mokuba to tell her who had beat him to rank him second in the world rather than first. Really, a lot of things made sense now, although she thought he really took it too far. "All dueling is fun dueling."

"No, it's really not." Seto informed her as she poured him a cup of coffee, knowing he would fully ignore everything half lost in his head the way he was.

Stepping over to him she set his coffee down and sent him an amused look. "It is to fun people." She informed him. "You un-fun person you."

"I'm very fun." He corrected seriously.

"Uhhh." Mokuba said with a rice ball halfway to his mouth as he stood next to the table full of food. She snickered and Seto sent them both that look he had, which she always found to be an incentive to harass him more rather than less as he intended.

"Drink your coffee before you glare us both to death." She suggested cheekily as she slid into a seat next to him, being sure to maintain a normal personal distance since they weren't alone. To say it had been a struggle to act like nothing was going on would be an understatement. After they got back from San Francisco she would be lying if she said he hadn't had her in an all out tizzy. When she woke up alone on the plane she had no idea what to think. Seto had barely even looked at her, and for a few moments she had been convinced that he had never kissed her and the whole thing had been some sort of vivid dream. But she could still smell him all over her from where she had laid on him, and could taste him on her lips, and knew it hadn't been.

They had dropped her off at home a few hours later and he had muttered a goodbye to her, looking out the window and barely acknowledging she had left. On edge and confused she figured he might simply be unsure of what to do. He'd had a hard enough time simply allowing her to be his friend, so maybe that was the trouble. Figuring she could at least give him some ideas she had tried to coax him out of his shell only to be shot down every time. It hardly helped that he wasn't acting at all like himself, and unused to anxiety rolling off him in palpable waves had set her teeth on edge. What was worse was she knew she was the reason for it, and she hated that more than she could say.

So when he told her he didn't want to have dinner after a week of opportunities to ask himself, and two other tries of her own she hadn't pushed the issue, sure he decided he wasn't interested and he had just flipped out or something when Pegasus snatched her and had reacted in a way he hadn't really intended to. Something inside her, the little ball of hope she had to nurture so hard to keep on even the best of days had been snuffed out. She had gone home feeling completely defeated and rejected by the one person she had finally convinced herself cared about her, and crawled into her bed, kicking her shoes off the edge and hiding her head under her pillow. As she wallowed in her very keenly felt misery, telling herself over and over that she had known better and he wasn't responsible for her or her feelings, someone had knocked on her door. Pulling the pillow off she had raised her head up as another knock sounded.

Forcing herself up she answered it and the manager of the apartment complex gave her a friendly smile as she handed her a pink box as wide as a large dinner plate and ten times as thick and told her it had been delivered to the front desk to her. Thanking the other woman she had taken the box and set it on her table, wondering what it was or why anyone had sent her something. For a moment she had been worried that Pegasus wasn't done with her, and had sent her something on top of the had been another issue she had wanted to bring up with Seto, as she had no idea what to do with the paperwork that had been placed under her door the day they got back while she was sleeping, but Seto had been so off putting she was terrified to say anything for fear he would kick her out on her ear at last.

So to say she was apprehensive when she opened the box would be putting it mildly. But instead of some sort of trick, blackmailing paraphernalia, or god knew what else from Pegasus, who she was now sure had her address, she instead found a prettily made package of chocolate covered fruit. She had blinked down at it, not really understanding, and spotted a small card tucked in the corner. Setting the top aside she opened it and found a very short message that simply said it was from Seto. Stunned, she had turned the card over to be sure there was nothing else on it and then stared down at the treat. It took her several seconds to realize what this was, and slowly she felt her near desolation retreating completely. Delight quickly replaced it and a giggle escaped her at the happy, bubbly feeling. Understanding this was his way of either apologizing or trying to tempt her to him, or both, she had eaten several of the strawberries before tucking the rest of it in her fridge for later.

The next day she had gone up to his office after she got a text from Mokuba about the duel, figuring it would be a good time to test the waters again. She had seen him watching her reaction closely, analyzing her, and was fully convinced she hadn't misunderstood the candy. Buoyed, she had begun flirting with him again and he had finally responded. She had felt a hundred percent better until he invited her over and she remember her appointment. She had to practically lie about why she couldn't be there right after work, even if saying she had an appointment wasn't technically a lie at all. Still, the whole thing had the nasty taste of dishonesty about it and she didn't have much interest in keeping secrets from him, especially something of this magnitude, but… she supposed it could at least wait a few hours until the whole thing was finalized.

After two days of fretting over the stocks and what they were worth she had finally contacted a lawyer to discuss it. Afraid to go into any details on the phone she had simply been placed with a young, and she suspected very new lawyer at the small firm that specialized in business transactions she had contacted, with the secretary who made her the appointment no doubt thinking she had only a small amount of stock that needed to be taken care of. When she had finally shown the man the paperwork, after being assured multiple times that this would be a confidential meeting, with him clearly wondering why she was so insistent about that, he had reached over to his phone and called the owner of the firm back into the office, with a look of excited apprehension. After two hours of financial talk that made her head want to explode, and a call to the head of the Industrial Illusions law team to confirm the legitimacy of the paperwork, she was even more panicked than she had been when she had stepped on the envelope on her way to the kitchen and discovered Pegasus had been completely serious about giving her ten percent of Kaiba Corp.

It turned out that while the stocks themselves were worth even more than she had estimated, Kaiba Corp was one of those companies that paid dividends, something she had never even considered. Her initial plan had been to simply keep control of the stocks, tell Seto about them, assure him she would do whatever he wanted her to do with them, and be done with it. Instead she was now faced with the very real issue of being paid by the corporation for simply owning the stocks every quarter, which was rapidly approaching. To put it bluntly in two weeks she was going to be in possession of literally millions of dollars as soon as that happened simply because the stock was in her name, and every quarter after that the same thing would happen.

Her new lawyer, who was the head of the firm she contacted, having shoved his young employee off to the side, was likely the only reason she hadn't had a panic attack in that moment. He has assured her quickly, seeing her stricken look, that he would take care of contacting a bank that would be able to manage that amount of cash flow for her the next day and meet her at said bank for her to sign all the paperwork he would have ready for her. He also promised he would find her a reliable financial consultant she could depend on to help her. It had occurred to her while she sat there, trying to wrap her head around the enormity of it, that she was now this man's most valuable client by a long run. The only reason she had picked this firm, which really was small by any standard, was because one of the attorneys on Seto's law team she worked with and liked had mentioned that he had started his career there and that the owner had been one of the best and most honorable people he had ever met. At the time she hadn't thought that information might well keep her sane, but was now very grateful indeed for that small tidbit of gossip. Not that any of that helped her when she was trying to work out what to tell Seto, but at least now she had a vague idea of what she should be doing to manage it.

So when she had finally managed to to get to the mansion, well over forty minutes late when she was never late for anything, she was fairly surprised Seto hadn't asked her why. She had been banking on him asking as a transition into the whole conversation. Instead he had shrugged it off so he could spend time with her. That completely sweet reaction had decimated her segue, and when she had tried to bring it up later he had utterly derailed her with a second mind boggling kiss. After that there was really no returning to the subject that evening, or apparently any of the other five she had spent with him in the last week. Anytime they were left alone she had found herself in his lap, pressed between him and the nearest wall, or nestled under him on whatever piece of furniture happened to be in the room they had fumbled their way into. Talking hadn't exactly been high on either of their priority lists and the longer she went without telling him the harder it seemed to be to mention it at all.

"I don't want coffee." He told her, bringing her back to the present, and out of her very fond recollection of making out on her couch last night, which had her clenching her legs against one another under the table. "I don't need to be jittery before this match."

Shrugging, she took the coffee for herself. It had been months since she'd had a cup and it smelled wonderful. Generally she stuck to tea, mostly because coffee was so expensive here, but if he wasn't going to drink it she was. "This right here?" She said, indicating the caffeine. "This is why you're un-fun. You can't even live it up with caffeine, especially when you know the staff only make this for you. You're the only one that drinks it and it's ridiculously expensive in this country. You're just being wasteful."

"Are you done?" He asked, fully tolerating her good natured harassment as he looked at a card critically. "I'm only trying to completely crush one of the highest ranked duelists in the world. It's not as if I have other things to worry about."

After three days Bandit Keith had accepted Kaiba's challenge as he had predicted. She had wondered why, when he was so clearly at a disadvantage, and Mokuba had explained to her that no one actually expected to beat Seto. Being offered a duel by him was as good as being ranked, as he had ignored numerous duelists himself, even when publicly challenged, no doubt finding the offers beneath him. Even if Keith lost this duel he would be back on the map so to speak, as long as he put on a good show. In all likelihood it would automatically give him admission into several high ranked tournaments around the world and open up the door to new sponsors, which was what most duelists lived off of. "Oh please. We all know you'll win." She told him without concern as she began to sip at the coffee. Her body jolted at the taste. She hadn't had coffee in well over a year and she'd forgotten how strong it was. Even so, she was surprised by how strong he had it brewed.

"But I want to crush him, not just win."

"You're a gentle man." She deadpanned. His lips curled up at the corners and she winked at him flirtatiously, unable to help herself. Actually, she had been surprised by how gentle and considerate he had been with her, having not expected that at all. Not that she had expected him to hurt her in any way, but if she had guessed, not that she had any former experience in the matter, tenderness would not have been the first word she would associate with any sort of physical interaction with him. However, there was really no other way to describe any of the encounters they'd had but with that particular word. While he had certainly been all over her, not that she hadn't been all over him, he had pushed at none of her boundaries. The third evening they had spent together he had slid his hand up under her shirt and over her ribs, which had her freezing as she had no idea how to react to that. As soon as she stopped kissing him, blushing badly and unable to meet his eyes he had removed his hand, placing it firmly back over her shirt. He had made no attempt to get under any of her clothes since then, and despite her lust she had been grateful. It was more than nice that he was letting her get comfortable and it had her relaxing, knowing he wasn't going to push. Setting the coffee aside she leaned in, her curiosity finally getting the better of her in one particular matter, and she supposed she should be trying to think of something else before she started blushing and having anyone ask why. "Will you show me this dragon everyone keeps talking about?"

Reaching into the middle of the deck without having to look he removed one of his blue eyes white dragons. He held it out to her and she took it carefully, wary of this whole thing but trying to hide it. She had been thrown badly when he told her the name of his favorite card, her mind jumping back to the story Ishizu had told her so many months ago about the priest and his white dragon maiden. But whatever she had been expecting, fear, recognition, more lights, or even those odd shadows trying to get her again nothing happened. Nothing at all happened, and she relaxed, berating herself for being so gullible. Studying the card she thought it was rather brutally beautiful. Really, she had never been overly fond of duel monsters, had only started playing because Mokuba had wanted her to, but there were some cards she liked the feel of. This one certainly topped her list and she understood why Seto must like it so much. Of all the dragon cards she had seen this was not only the most powerful, it was also the flashiest. It certainly suited his personality. It would be neat to see how this reacted to his new program. "Well?" He asked.

"It's pretty, in a fearsome sort of way." She told him, handing the card back to him.

"Pretty?" He asked in horror, as if she had somehow sullied its very essence.

She shrugged. "Well she is."

"It's not a girl." Mokuba told her from the other table as he piled food onto a plate.

"Please, it's totally a girl." She replied, wondering why she thought that at all, or why she was even talking about it. "Look at those curves."

"It's clear you're mad." Seto baited, taking the card back and tucking it away. "I can't believe I employ you."

"I can't believe you trust me with your brother." She replied cheerfully as she went back to the treat that was coffee. "And really, I think that makes you the real crazy at this table."

Mokuba came over and handed her a small crepe. "Now children, let's not argue."

"Since you're bribing me with food." She agreed happily.

"You'd do about anything for food." Mokuba said as he flopped down beside her with his own meal. "So what's your strategy, nii-san?"

He began to tell Mokuba what he was going to do and she half listened as she had her snack, getting up and filling a plate with more than just a pastry. She was perfectly content to let them talk and wait for the match to start. She was excited to watch him in action, and even more excited for dinner afterwards, having been looking forward to their first real date since he suggested a time. And despite her playful threats she wasn't in her jeans. Knowing she was likely going to be on television, if only for a few moments as they panned over the crowd, she had instead opted for a trendy blouse and a pair of shorts that were made of a high quality material. She figured it would be fine for wherever they went after, and if they ended up walking she was in a pair of pretty flats that wouldn't rub blisters on her feet. She could tell he liked the outfit, and her hair, which she had in an intricate braid that curved over one of her shoulders, when she had met them here an hour ago.

Half an hour later and she was full enough to get her to a late meal with him and was looking through a few of the cards he had set to the side that he wouldn't be using in this match. As she set one down there was a knock on the door and Roland stepped in. "Everything is ready, Mr. Kaiba."

"Fine." He said distractedly, making one more change before standing up and putting his deck in his trench coat pocket. "Let's go."

Going after all of them she was intrigued when they were taken the back way through the park, one that was clearly only for staff use, and ended up in the dueling arena. When they got to a hallway that was clearly only for the competitors Mokuba grinned. "Take him down."

She laughed softly, but nodded in agreement. "And you know, have fun too."

"I'll see you both after the match." He told them tolerantly. "Try not to get trampled."

"We'll be fine." Mokuba assured him as he turned and headed toward a nearby staircase, grabbing her wrist to get her to follow him as he went. "Come on, if we wait any longer someone is going to take our seats no matter who we are."

Following after Mokuba she looked over her shoulder and waved at Seto in farewell, sending him a shy sort of smile. His lips curled up, pleased, and she blushed, which had his small smile growing as she was whisked up the stairs. Once he was out of sight she increased her pace, picking up on the excitement that was radiating not only out of Mokuba, but everyone in the whole arena. As they came out into the crowd the noise nearly overwhelmed her and she was fully impressed to see the place was packed to bursting. She had never been at anything like this before and shook her head in wonder. "This way." Mokuba urged, shoving a few people out of the way as they got to two open seats at the base of the arena. They were clearly the best spots in the house and she wasn't at all surprised. Getting to the seats she slipped into one as Mokuba flopped into the other, appearing very eager indeed.

"This is the best place to watch from." He told her. She noted that the four holographic arenas that were usually in this dueling hall had been removed, leaving only the large empty space in the center. Clearly, there would be plenty of room to show off the new holographic AI program. Glancing around she was pleasantly surprised when she saw Mai in the crowd on the other side of the arena almost directly across from them, her blond hair making her stick out even in this crowd. She was sitting beside Joey, who was surveying the arena with interest for all there was nothing there but the floor. Right behind them she saw Yugi peering over Joey's shoulder saying something to him. Tea was to Yugi's left, and Tristan was to his right, looking more interested in the soda he was drinking than the match that was about to start.

As she took them in Mai spotted her too and waved. Smiling back she returned the gesture and Mokuba followed her line of sight, spotting the small group. "How long do you think this will last?" She asked curiously as she lowered her hand.

"It depends on how much Keith prepared." He told her, nodding to Yugi politely when Mai bumped him and made a gesture toward where they were sitting. "But I've seen Seto wipe duelist out in less than five minutes before even when they're playing to eight thousand life points." He told her. "And Maybe Seto will use a blue eyes and you can see how awesome it really is. The card doesn't do it justice."

She smiled at him, really liking to see that, and a wave of vertigo hit her out of nowhere. Reaching out quickly she grabbed the arm of her seat hard. Mokuba grabbed her shoulder and helped her catch her balance as she swayed dangerously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said, regaining her balance all at once, although her stomach was rocking a little. "That was weird. I felt sick for a second."

Mokuba frowned. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

She shook her head a little, but felt alright overall and had no explanation for that. "I'm okay now. I probably just ate too much sugar or something."

Mokuba sent her a disbelieving look, but before he could say anything else the announcements for the match started. The lights dimmed and the crowd went wild before anything could even happen. The noise was deafening and it took most of her willpower not to throw her hands over her ears. A few seconds later and a spotlight came up on the far side of the field from where they were on a tall, sturdy, blond man that had to spend time in the gym. He was also clearly a walking stereotype from his star spangled bandana, to his denim vest, to his overdone motorcycle boots. Despite the hideous outfit he got a resounding welcome from the crowd. "Oh no, seriously." She groaned. "What is he wearing?"

Mokuba sniggered, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Isn't he majestic?"

"Shut up, you." She replied, irritated by the man she had never even met as the announcer introduced him to the crowd. "That's just… so awful."

Mokuba kept laughing as the spotlight closer to them came on and Seto walked calmly and confidently out of the darkened arena hall. She couldn't fault him for knowing how to make an entrance. Steely eyed with his signature trench coat billowing out around him he was a sight to behold. The crowd was so loud this time her teeth actually began to vibrate and her eyes went wide in amazement at the response. No matter what they had told her she hadn't actually thought he was this popular. As she glanced around at everyone people began to chant the Kaiba family name over and over again, filling the stadium with the intonation. When she turned her attention back to him she saw he had found both herself and Mokuba in the crowd, smirking in smug amusement at her dumbfounded shock at the reception, and marked where they were before bothering to turn his attention to Keith.

The other man noticed that he was more of an afterthought than anything, despite being invited here, and also darted a glance to what Seto was looking at. The other man raised an eyebrow when he saw them, and then huffed, as if everything was beneath his attention. "Jerk." Mokuba muttered under his breath even as he smiled, playing the good brother and she was as sure they were on camera as he was. "Seto's going to wipe the floor with him."

"Good, then we can quit staring at that monstrosity of an outfit. Looking at it hurts my soul."

Mokuba snickered, his anger over the not so subtle snub vanishing. She smiled at him and then leaned forward a little, more than ready for this to start. Seto also appeared ready and as soon as the introductions were done he raised his arm, showing off the new duel disk in spectacular fashion. The crowd cheered again, their excitement rising as Kaiba threw his deck into the machine and the two small holographic projectors on it shot out on either side of him as Keith quickly followed suit. As the card deck rotated down and locked in another wave of vertigo smashed over her, and her stomach heaved.

She almost fell out of her seat and Mokuba managed to grab her and shove her back against the seat. "Sarah?" He hissed, his eyes darting between her and Seto, who was now fully focused on the match.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She mumbled, her stomach rolling.

" _Now?_ " He asked quietly. "The duel is starting!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." She muttered as guilt warred with the bile. Afraid she was going to vomit right over the edge of the arena she pushed his arm aside and got up quickly. Skirting her way out of the aisle, with people sending her irritated glances, she made it to the stairs without toppling over or getting sick. She nearly fell down the last three steps to the underground hallway they had come through and made it ten more feet before she lost control. Bending over double she threw up on the cement ground, her fingernails digging into the wall as she tried to keep herself from falling in the mess as her balance went wild and she began to feel… floaty.

Spitting out the last of the bile that had come up she staggered away, not understanding what had brought that on and feeling very bad indeed about getting sick in a hallway rather than a bathroom, which was only ten more feet away. As she took a deep breath through her nose, trying to settle her stomach and meaning to go rinse out her mouth and return to her seat before she missed anything else, she heard Seto's soft, familiar voice whisper her name. Looking over her shoulder, back at the area they had come here through only minutes before, she frowned in confusion. Where the locked doorway to the staff access area had once been was now an odd, ancient stone doorway. On either side of the carved door were torches which were throwing odd, flickering images at the meticulously detailed carving that dominated the space. In the strangled, inconsistent light she saw that carved into the center of it was Seto's giant white dragon.

She swayed harder, torn between going to the image, which was so intriguing she could hardly stand it, and returning to the match where she knew she should be. The torchlight blazed, putting the carving in sharp relief as something happened on the battlefield above her and people began to cheer, encourage, and taunt the two duelists. As she stood there indecisively, feeling as if she wasn't fully connected to herself she heard him call her name again, a welcoming entreaty from behind the door. Compelled to answer the call she went to it, unable to resist him, and as she stood in front of it blue and gold lights began to spark around the edges and it slowly swung open for her.

Swaying in front of the open doorway she could see nothing but bright white light and raised her hands up to stop herself from being blinded. "Come to me." Seto called, his voice sounding different somehow, more formal. "Love, come to me." Entranced by the call she stepped through the threshold into the light and found herself in a seemingly endless, intricately carved hallway as the glow faded away. From floor to ceiling it was marked with an unending multitude of hieroglyphics, all of them precisely and beautifully carved, looking as if they had been created only yesterday. "Come." Seto called again, his voice sounding more urgent now, and she staggered forward.

As she started walking, her balance became increasingly worse, until she was bouncing off the walls, trying to keep herself up on her feet. "Seto?" She called in agitation, her urgency to find him reaching an odd feverish pitch as her head began to throb. "Seto, where are you?" There was no answer and she let out a small grunt as her shoulder hit the wall again, scraping against the carvings. As she tried to push herself back up, her fingers brushing over an image of a robed magician, the wall shifted, snaking out and wrapping tightly around her hand and wrist. She let out a cry of horror at the feeling of the the stone as it morphed into coarse ropes that dug painfully into her skin. She hurled herself away, slamming into the opposite wall and knocking herself half senseless as the back of her head connected with the stone. Shaking her hand hard she tried to get the rope off as terror of being bound filled her, clawing at her skin hard in an effort to free herself.

Her own fingernails dug into her skin, drawing lines of blood as she managed to get her hands around the rope and hurl it off her, white light flashing as it came loose. The blood stained ropes hit the ground behind her and heaved up, forming into a towering, darkly dressed mage holding a staff topped with a giant green emerald. Unexplainable terror filled her as his cold violet eyes stared down at her. Lifting his staff he banged it on the slabs below him and twisting shadows erupted around it, blossoming into claws, teeth, and rotting hands. Gasping in terror she hurled herself up and ran down the hallway, staggering badly. " _Seto!_ " She screamed as she tripped clumsily forward, turning around a corner that suddenly appeared and seeing another doorway, this one carved with a large, all seeing eye.

Seeing a way out she threw her full body weight at it and tumbled through it as it opened for her. She fell flat out over the ground, rough stone digging into her cheek and scrapping it as she skidded to a halt, her momentum driving her forward. Too afraid to care she raised her head up and found herself in a large, open plaza surrounded by towering columns on an endless sea of sand. The sun blazed down on her, and her head turned sharply toward the door she had come through, only to find that there was nothing there. Completely bewildered she panted as her head spun and her stomach heaved. Her mind was becoming increasingly murky and she felt as if parts of herself were falling away, flowing off her as if her wants and memories were clothes she could slip in and out of. As she forced herself to her feet, barely able to keep herself up, an enraged roar echoed over the area. All at once the air in the center of the large space began to ripple out like water being disturbed in a pond and a large tablet shimmered into existence before her.

Swaying, she looked up at the stone relief, not understanding why this familiar looking beast was staring down at her, but feeling like something was trying to claw it's way through her brain, ripping away the last shreds of herself she was trying to hold onto. Her head was pounding painfully as the wind began to pick up, whispering words at her, although she couldn't understand what was being said. As she stared up at the dragon, feeling like she should understand, the stone shattered into a million pieces with a sharp, ear splitting crack. She cried out, falling down to the stone blocks as the monolith turned to gritty sand and spread out in a wave, the grains flowing over her shoes and ankles and pooling around her. " _No!_ " She wailed, grabbing at the sand, not understanding why she was so upset, or why tears were forming in her eyes as the blood running down her hand mixed in with the grains.

"Now, now, my dear, no need for tears. I've come to help you." A calm male voice said.

Her head came up and she saw a cloaked and hooded figure standing no more than a dozen yards away from her, having stepped out from one of the tall stone pillars that lined the ancient looking plaza. "W-what?" She managed, her breath hitching as another blast of agony tore through her head. She let out a sharp cry, reaching up and clutching at her temples as the pain burned her thoughts away.

"The more you fight it the more it's going to hurt." He told her, sounding as if that was the last thing he wanted. Not understanding in the slightest she pulled in a ragged breath and forced her hands down as she looked back up. All around her the air shimmered and she felt a wave of heat diffuse over the area, causing sweat to break out along her back and neck. Her disorientation increased as the world began to spin and she felt fear setting in, cold terror that chased the sweat away and caused chills to run along her spine despite the oppressive heat. Understanding she was in danger she couldn't explain or understand she pushed herself back to her feet, falling back to the mound of sand twice before managing.

The man watched her struggling silently from under his hood, but she couldn't see his face past the shadows he was hiding behind. As she squinted at him he slowly raised his hand up, revealing an odd golden scale, it's two plates resting on delicate golden links and suspended between a simple golden spire emblazoned with an eye at the center. The odd thing pulsed with golden light and the same strange sparks she knew she shouldn't be seeing danced around him. She recoiled at once, but he held his other hand up in a peaceful gesture. "Calm yourself, great one."

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice breaking. "And what is that thing?"

"This is the millennium scale." He replied, holding it out for her to see more clearly, not trying to hide it. "It's one of seven magical items created on the order of a great pharaoh of Egypt. You've seen this before, Kisara, and you nearly blinded it's last guardian when he tried to see your true form. Let yourself remember."

She shook her head, the name sending another sharp stab of pain through her. That sounded wrong, but as hard as she searched she couldn't seem to remember what he should be calling her. "My name… that's not… what's my name?"

"I suppose it never really was Kisara." He replied. "Just as it isn't really Sarah now." Tears began to slid down her face as a deep, unexplainable sadness filled her, and he went on, lowering the scale again. "And I suppose my name is no more important than yours in the end. But I've come here to help you."

"Help me?" She asked, not understanding and struggling to work out what was going on, and why all she could draw from her own mind was an endless gray blankness. For the life of her she couldn't remember how she got to this strange place, or what might have tempted her here in the first place. "I don't need help-"

"Don't you?" He asked, taking a small step forward. "Isn't that exactly why you're here? Isn't that exactly why you found this world again? Because you thought your priest could help you escape the shadows?"

"The shadows?" She repeated quietly, and he made a motion to the edge of the great plaza. Around the outside of the columns she saw darkness gathering in a foul mist, chasing the bright light of the sun away, as if it were some sort of grotesque eclipse. She recognized it at once, and felt the hostility of a hundred thousand eyes on her. Her head whipped around as she saw she was surrounded, which only made the dizziness worse.

"Yes." He agreed quietly. "They are angry with you aren't they?"

Some part of her sensed the anger radiating out of them and knew that they wanted her. "Why are they trying to take me?"

"Because after banishing so many of them back to the shadow realm at the order of your priest you managed to escape it."

Another cold shiver hit her. "The shadow realm?"

"A dark place I'm very sure you have no interest in returning to." He agreed. "You came to this world searching for sanctuary." He held his free hand out to her. "Come to me and I will ensure that you'll never have to go back." She swayed in front of him, staring at his hand. When she made no move to take it he spoke again. "Do you really think he can keep you safe?" He asked. "After what happened last time when he had magic to wield?"

"Last time?" She asked blankly, still staring at his hand. "What happened last time?"

Blowing across the desert sand she heard a distant call. "Kisara!" The voice stirred something inside of her and she looked away from him, searching for it.

"He let you die once." The man in front of her told her. "You gave him everything. You gave him your love, your loyalty, your power, your life, your very _soul_. What has he done to earn any of it again? What has he done to earn your forgiveness for his failure? He is a spoiled, selfish man, intent on nothing but power. I can give you what you want, what you've always wanted, a way to stay here forever."

The voice echoed again and she ignoring the man and his words, turning away and walking toward the edge of the sand, to where the call came from, no longer frightened by the shadows that were blocking her path. They hissed at her, crying out in rage and resentment. But beyond them, waiting for her, a different man appeared. Dressed in flowing white robes fringed with sapphire silk, and gripping a short golden staff he was also holding out his hand, his navy eyes full of affection. As she approached him he smiled at her warmly, as if he had always been there waiting for her. Wanting nothing more than to get to him she walked through the shadows with light radiating out of her and burning them away as they lunged at her.

As she reached out to take his hand the man behind her sighed in irritation. "I can see this was a waste of my time." There was a bright golden flash right before her fingertips made contact and then a barked command. "Shadow spell!" A set of heavy chains materialized out of nowhere and wrapped around her tightly, slamming her into the ground and extinguishing her light. She let out a cry of pain and began to struggle as the blue eyed man vanished and she was dragged roughly back across the ground toward the center of the plaza. She finally stopped at his feet and the hooded man stared down at her. "He's been far too lenient with you, letting you run wild as if you owned yourself."

Staring up into the hood she saw the outline of his face and hissed at the confinement, making out the outline of his face. "Let me go!" She demanded fiercely.

"Why aren't you making me?" He asked. "You have the capacity to free yourself." She struggled harder and he studied her intently before suddenly letting out an irritated breath. "You must let go your inhibitions, my dear. How do you expect to kill me laying there like some sort of helpless damsel?" She had no idea how she was supposed to break out of these chains and snarled as she kicked her legs and arched her back, accomplishing nothing but to have the links digging deeper into her back. "I all but hand you to him with a ribbon wrapped about your neck and he hasn't even taken you to his bed yet. Idiot boy. What have the two of you been doing the last few weeks, hm?"

She let out an inarticulate cry of frustration, her body tiring too much to keep this up and he lashed out and kicked her, sending her skidding away as pain lanced across her ribs. "We are rapidly running out of time! Show yourself to me!"

"Get away from her!" Someone snarled from across the open space.

The hooded figure looked up. "Ah, Kaiba, welcome. Did you enjoy the duel?"

"It's not over yet." He stated and she managed to turn her head and saw a lanky, shaggy haired teenager standing there, outrage rolling off of him.

The hooded man sent her another glance. "No, I imagine not. He hasn't even gotten around to calling his favorite beast. Keith must be even weaker than I thought."

"Let her go and leave." The teen ordered.

The man chuckled cruelly. "You've no power here, boy, assuming you know where here even is."

"We're in the shadow realm." He replied, his violet eyes resolute and unafraid. "I've been here before." Lifting his hand he pointed at the scale. "And I know what that is and how you got here. I also know if you knew how to use that millennium item the way you should I never would have been able to walk through the doorway you created in the secondary dueling arena. Now, let her go."

"Or what?" The man taunted.

The teenager lifted his left arm, showing off a strange silver disk on his wrist. "Or I'll cast you so far into this world you'll never find your way out."

The man laughed, clearly amused, but she began to struggle again. She felt a kinship with this boy, and despite her confusion and memory loss she was afraid for him. "No, please, run!"

The hooded figure stopped laughing abruptly. "Well how interesting." He remarked. "Could it be you've attached yourself to both of them?" Turning his attention back up he raised his own arm and another metal disk sparked into existence on his wrist. "I accept your challenge, Mokuba Kaiba. Winner takes… the girl." Mokuba put a deck of cards into the disk and a card deck slid down into place, the whole thing lighting up as it activated. "And your soul of course. She isn't the only one I came here for."

Reaching out Mokuba drew a handful of cards. "Then let's duel."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Knowledge Spillover

The hooded man drew his own set of six cards and began to place them at once. "I'll place two cards face down." He told Mokuba, not sounding at all worried. "Do you really think this was wise? Not that you have a choice now. But you always have lacked the more impressive talents your brother possess all the way around, and even he's lost shadow games before."

Mokuba drew a card before speaking, refusing to be baited. "Pegasus cheated Seto in that duel." He replied as the name hung in her hazy mind. "And that item can't read my mind, even if I don't know what it does, only the millennium eye can do that. I will beat you." He set his own cards. "I'll place one card face down and summon the Six Samurai Nisashi in attack mode." A samurai with dark hair and glowing black armor appeared in front of Mokuba in a swirl of lights, holding a sword ready to attack. "That ends my turn."

"That's right, it was Pegasus that sent you here the first time wasn't it? How was that trip?" He asked, cruelly. "I imagine this place is interesting to say the least to a nine year old."

Mokuba clenched his jaw, but once again ignored the taunting. "Make a move."

"If you insist." He agreed. Drawing another card he placed it face up and a large, scaled demon shimmered into existence. "I summon Des Feral Imp in attack mode and activate my spell card, Black Pendant, which increases my beasts power." He flicked his hand forward at the large green and black monster. "Destroy his samurai."

The demon raced forward with a snarl and slashed the warrior apart. The boy let out a cry of pain, flinching backward, and she began to struggle again at his distress. "Stop it!" She cried angrily, upset more than she could say that he had been hurt, although she didn't know why it upset her, or even how it had hurt him as the monster hadn't touched him.

Neither of them took notice of her and she was surprised when Mokuba recovered and smirked. "You activated my trap."

"Of course." The man replied, sounding bored. "Which one?"

Mokuba's confident smile fell a bit as he flipped the card. "Shien's Scheme." He replied and a card flew up and revealed itself. "Since you destroyed my samurai I can summon two more from my hand." He threw two cards down quickly. "I'll play the Legendary Six Samurai Kageki and Kanji." Two new warriors appeared on the field, both ready to fight. "And since I have two samurai cards on the field both of their special effects activate." As she watched on one of the warriors became remarkably strong, and the other made a slashing motion with his staff. "Destroy his Imp, Kageki!"

"Well done." The other man congratulated condescendingly as his beast vanished. "It seems your brother managed to teach you something."

Snarling, she wiggled harder, trying to free herself, and the hooded man cast a glance her way. "Do be patient. I've no doubt you'll have your own duel to deal with soon enough." Rage was rapidly replacing any fear of this person she had ever had and she lashed her foot out in frustration and spat a curse out at him. In response he raised the scale in his hand and it glowed gold. The chains wrapped around her more tightly and she let out a grunt as air was forced out of her lungs.

"That's enough!" Mokuba snapped at him. "It's me you're dealing with now!"

The man turned back to him. "Tell me, boy, do you even know what it is you're risking your soul for?"

"I know who Sarah is."

"Sarah Drake." He laughed. "What a lovely moniker she's given herself this time around." She lay on the ground trying to get air into her lungs, forced into stillness in order to breathe. "Not as lovely as her last name in my opinion, but well enough all around."

Mokuba wasn't moved. "I know she changed her identity when she came to Japan. Do you think that would get me to turn on her?"

"Her _identity_?" The man remarked. "You've not a clue what she is." Mokuba frowned in confusion. "But look at you, full of youthful chivalry and ready to save a woman you view as what?" The scale in his hand glittered. "A friend? An older sister? The maternal figure you've longed for with such fervent desperation all these years? Do you think she resembles your real mother?" He asked. "Or can you even remember what she looks like?"

"I-"

"But no, it's more than that. It's so much more perverse isn't it? To lust after the mother you've always wanted. How frustrating it has to be to want the same woman your brother already has. She's just one more thing he's outdone you in."

"It is not like that." Mokuba snapped. "And she would never pick one of us over the other."

"She already _has_." He told Mokuba. "You never had a chance, not even for the least of her affections. There's no room for you between them and I assure you your brother will pick her every time if forced. He can't help himself."

"Seto will never betray me." Mokuba stated, his eyes going cold. "Never."

"You are an afterthought, Mokuba Kaiba, to everyone you've ever known. You always have been and you always will be."

Mokuba's jaw clenched, as the words started to stick into him, and she strained toward him. "Stop listening to him!" She wheezed, seeing that somehow the object Mokuba's opponent was holding was allowing him to see the teenagers deepest fears. "The scale is-"

"Do I need to break your ribs to get you to hold your tongue?" The man asked as the chains tightened further. She whined as her body was compressed to a near breaking point, and she knew that wasn't an idle threat.

"Stop it!" The teenager snarled. "I told you it's me you're dealing with! So either duel me or explain yourself." Mokuba told him. "I didn't come here for riddles."

"It hardly matters what I mean. I'll have both of you soon enough." He flicked his hand and his second card came up. "I'll play cost down to reduce the level of all the monsters in my hand by two. That lets me play Caius the Shadow Monarch with no need to sacrifice another monster." A darkly cloaked fiend appeared, his cape billowing around him as an odd tug started in her chest that had nothing to do with the tethers. "Now-"

All at once she felt searing pain rip through her entire body, and despite having the chains constricting the air out of her she let out a keening, agonized scream. "Sarah!" Mokuba called as she began to convulse. "What are you doing to her?"

"Nothing at all." The man replied. "You have your brother to thank-"

Just as the pain reached a point where she was sure she would have to pass out or perish there was a blinding flash of white light. She continued to scream, but all at once it was no longer her voice, only an echoing, terrifying roar. As the sound died away it was replaced with a deafening peal of enthusiastic cheering. Her sight returned as her thoughts faded back to an endless expanse of grey nothingness, tinged with only feral rage and hate. She found herself in a crowded, brightly lit amphitheater. All around her were masses of noisy human's and she could smell their bloodlust, their thirst for barbaric entertainment, in her nostrils. Snaking her head around she roared at them savagely, livid, livid that any of them would dare to come before her and expect to live. The reaction had half the stadium of them falling back over themselves in surprise, with many of them appearing as frightened as they should be.

"Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A voice called behind her, which had her head swiveling back around as someone, some brave fool, addressed her by name. Behind her on the open field a navy eyed young man stood staring at her with smug confidence. She bared her teeth as a savage hiss escaped her throat. The young man was not at all intimidated, instead he smirked, clearly pleased. Throwing his arm out he pointed across the space. "Destroy his Jinzo Lord!" He ordered.

She was about to lash out at him instead, more than ready to destroy him for his impudence, when a golden eye glimmered to existence on his forehead. She paused, and he frowned at the half second hesitation, but she saw his magic and recognized the danger and power he held. Those that wielded such magic could kill her kind if pushed, even if it was no small feat, even if the gods themselves were wary to cross her path. Deciding to bide her time she turned her head and let loose a blast of all consuming power at her shadow kin, having no real loyalty to the beast, and the lightning vaporizing it before it could put up a fight. It fell before her, as they all did, and the man that had been controlling the vanquished beast, who was not a magic weirder at all, growled in anger. "Not bad, Kaiba, but I won't go down that fast." She snarled again as something prodded at her thoughts, and she disliked it. Her only goal now was to appease this mage behind her until he was done with his foe so she could escape, or dropped his guard so she could kill him. No matter what kind of power he had he couldn't hold onto her forever, not once the shadow duel was over. She was too strong for that, and she wondered how he had managed to call her here to begin with.

"Three more turns." The mage goaded. "I'll have you down to nothing in three turns, so I suggest you make them count."

The other man stuck his nose out, huffing out a snub. "Confident are we? I wouldn't be, not with me having three face down spell and trap cards on the field."

The mage laughed softly, cruelly. "It's too bad you didn't have more." He replied. "Not that any of them will help you." He flicked his hand and an enchantment went off beside her. "I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon! Return to me Blue Eyes so I can destroy his spells!"

She felt a sharp tug and roared in rage as she was yanked backward against her will, as if a giant hand had grabbed her and tossed her like a loose stone across a pond. The arena vanished and all at once there was more pain and she gasped sharply as her body jerked hard. Forcing her eyes open she moaned as the chains dug into her sore ribs and she found herself back on the sand strewn rocks. "Sarah!" The boy called, and she saw there were different armed men in front of him, one that looked oddly like a monkey in ancient armor. "Sarah! Are you alright?"

Her head lolled. "Who's…. Sarah?" She managed, wondering where the arena had gone, or why the mage had seemed familiar, or why she wasn't the way she should be.

"You're Sarah!" He yelled, fear in his voice. "What's the matter with you?"

"Her mind is opening." The hooded man informed him matter of factly.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mokuba snarled.

"She's caught between worlds." The man replied. "Torn between her fanatic loyalty to her priest and the physical manifestation of her soul."

"You mean her body?" Mokuba asked, alarmed. "Are you saying her soul just got ripped out of her body?"

"It's not a pleasant experience." The man told him with a shrug. "You should know that better than nearly anyone."

Distantly she heard a barked order from the arena mage inside her head and tried to twist frantically, torn between staying with Mokuba and the irresistible pulling that caught her up, no matter how badly it hurt. The decision was made for her in moments as the pain returned, ripping a rasping scream out of her before she was engulfed in the light. In front of her in the stadium a giant machine was powering up and the mage's opponent was all but rolling in self satisfaction. "You're dragon can't stop my trumped up Perfect Machine King. With two other machine monsters on the field he gets a thousand point power boost. That brings his total to thirty-seven hundred. Even your blue eyes can't match that." He threw his arm forward in a command. "Take out the dragon! Now!"

"Mistake." The mage made a harsh slicing motion and conjured another spell behind her. "I activate the trap card Castle of Dragon Souls. I'll banish my Dimension Dragon from my graveyard to increase my Blue Eyes attack by seven hundred points. White Lightning Attack!"

Seeing that the other monster was about to take her down she obeyed, if only because there was no other option except to fight. As she released a ball of lightning the man yelled in rage. "No!" He snarled. "That mean's they'll destroy one another!"

Unfortunately, she found that was true and was blasted backward as green energy overtook her, sending pain radiating out along her back and wings. The sensation, while uncomfortably intense, was brief as she was jolted back to the plaza. Blinking slowly she saw that Mokuba was looking the worse for wear. He was panting and sweat was beading on his forehead. In front of him a samurai was on one knee, ready to defend him, and she tried to gather her thoughts, which seemed to be just out of reach. "Sarah, dear." The man called tauntingly. "Yes, that's you down there." She forced her head to the side so she could see him. "Are you watching? I do need you to pay attention while you're with us. Observe." She frowned, not understanding, until the man flicked his fingers at a monster before him. "Did I mention this card can bypass all your defenses? Attack his life points directly." Her head jerked around as the beast flashed forward and Mokuba was thrown backward. He let out a pained shout as he hit the ground and his samurai let out a wordless shout of rage as his master was attacked. "Give up now, Kaiba, you can't win. Make it easy for all of us."

Turning himself over with obvious difficulty the boy shoved himself up, swaying as he gasped. "Never. I'm not leaving without her."

"You're not leaving at all." The man said.

"Stop hurting him." She cried, right before that horrible pain hit her again and she began screaming. This time she knew what was going to happen, and tried desperately to hold onto her thoughts, but when she found herself back in the arena she bellowed in frustration and lashed her tail out, only aware now that she should be elsewhere. Around her people were chanting and she coiled about herself in agitation, knowing that she needed to go. As she did she saw the navy eyed mage again, and he was fully at ease, his self-assurance palpable.

"I did say three turns." He goaded.

The crowd roared in approval as the other man stood defiantly before them, a name rocking around the arena. "Kaiba! Kaiba! Kaiba!"

She shook her head hard, the name pounding at her, undulating over her scales and having her digging her claws into the smooth floor below her as she fought to remember whatever felt so important. "Do it then." The man before her said.

The name kept pounding into her from all sides, and all at once she remembered the boy… Kaiba, _Kaiba_ was his name, and he was trying to help her. She let out another roar, this one of fear, and launched herself up into the sky, desperate to escape this shadow duel so she could get to him, knowing his opponent was too powerful for him alone, but finding her way blocked by a dome of golden light no doubt put in place by the mage that was bossing her about so irritatingly. "Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The man called up to her, and she beat her wings, twisting sinuously in the air and turning to look at him, knowing only that she would be forced to obey as his magic was the strongest she had ever seen. As she did she let out an ear splitting keen of despair, meeting his familiar seeming eyes, and the man faltered. He turned his head sharply, looking into the crowd. His eyes quickly became frantic, but his face was impassive as he turned back to her. She roared again, hampered by his will, and he made a harsh motion. "White lightning attack!" Turning her head she let loose with all her power, hitting the other man and sending him staggering backward. The crowd roared and she saw the magic around her shatter, freeing her from the constraints. But before she could flee to find the boy she was simply back in the other place, her awareness slamming into her other body. Gasping she lay limply, unable to fight any longer. Utterly exhausted her head lolled to the left and her tired gaze fell directly on Mokuba.

He was barely able to keep himself up now, his shoulders slumping as he panted harshly. He was soaked through with sweat, his shirt all but dripping, and his face was ashen. But despite that he was still up and ready to fight, defiance etched into every line of him. "This is the end, boy." The hooded man told him. "No card you draw can save you from my Dark Ruler Ha Des, not with the spell card on it, and you only have fifty life points left. Surrender."

The boy staggered, gasping, but managed to plant his feet. "And you only have a hundred and twenty-five. This isn't over." Turning, he caught her gaze and she watched him silently, so tired she could barely keep her eyes open now. "It'll be alright, Sarah." He assured her. "I'll think of something and then we'll go home, okay? Don't worry."

Her breathing began to slow dramatically as she watched him, and her mind connected with the dragon. She felt it's anger, which was her own, and saw clearly for the first time how to be what she was meant to be, what she had always been. Gathering the last of her energy, she let herself relax all over as a strange wave of peace washed over her. She sent him a tired, encouraging smile. "Draw."

Mokuba nodded sharply and pulled a card out of his deck. His face filled with confusion and he stared down at the card with wide eyes, freezing all over. "I'm growing impatient!" The cloaked man snapped.

Mokuba's face cleared and he looked up, conviction. Overhead the darkness began to grow and lightning flashed through the haze as thunder rolled over the endless expanse of sand. "You were wrong." Lifting the card he snapped. "I sacrifice my Six Samurai Kamon and my Hand of the Six Samurai to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

For the fourth time a blast of agony hit her. Too tired to scream she simply went limp before she was suddenly towering before Mokuba as lighting slammed into the ground around them, blasting chunks of stone out of the blocks. Her fury knew no bounds and she roared so loudly that the stone below her paws shook. The cloaked man took an involuntary step back before catching himself. "Oh, _well done_ , Kaiba!" The man called, truly pleased. "You've summoned her! You've done it!"

She bellowed and the teenager caught his second wind, bolstered by her appearance. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, white lightning attack!" Turning her head she spotted him and roared, refusing to be dominated. She lashed her tail out at the boy and he let out a shout, tumbling backward as she nearly sliced him in half.

Across from them the other man chuckled. "You can't control her, you fool, not here in the shadow realm at the heart of her power. You've no magic to even attempt it." She whipped her tail down and the teenager rolled to the left hard before scrambling up and dodging behind a pillar. Having dealt with that small annoyance she turned her attention to the other monster and breathed lightning in rage, decimating it. The man that had been controlling it stumbled back, but with a smidgeon of power left he raised his scale up to her and it began to glow. Unafraid she launched herself into the air and roared as lightning continued to rain down, toppling columns and leaving craters and burn marks everywhere. Unappeased by the destruction she began to breathe lighting, knocking over another five pillars with a single blast.

As she circled back around she saw the boy that had dared to call her racing out among the bolts to an unconscious human laying in the center of the square. The boy hurled himself over her, trying to shield her, and she was about to finish him when a blast of golden light smashed her out of the sky. She slammed into the rough stones at an angle, toppling another three columns as she did. Shaking her head she screech as she snaked back up, more angry than hurt. Searching for the source of the magic she saw the cloaked man holding up the scale as the eye on it glowed. Seeing a much more powerful enemy she spread her wings and roared again, advancing on him.

The man stood his ground and when she drew breath to finish him he held a card up, releasing a spell. A large, upright pot appeared before him, embossed with the face of a dragon. "Dragon capture jar, take her!" She began to be drawn forward and snarled in shock, trying to dig her paws into the stone. "There's no escape now." The man told her. "You _will_ be mine _._ "

"Trap jammer!" A new voice yelled.

A blast of orange light hit the jar and it exploded, releasing her from it's grip. "No!" Her enemy yelled as she opened her maw and spewed a stream of lightning at him. There was a scream of pain and then a golden flash. When it faded there was nothing in the place her foe had been and she knew he had escaped. Infuriated by the get away she whirled around, intent on taking her frustration out on someone, on one of these wretched humans that kept interfering with her. Gathering her power around her had bolts of energy lancing off her and she saw the boy that had summoned her crouched down by the other one. Spreading her wings she launched herself at him, and suddenly the powerful mage from the arena had thrown himself bodily between her and her intended victim. She beat her wings hard, landing before him and roaring at him as loudly as she could, her teeth bared in contempt.

"Stop this!" He commanded forcefully and the eye appeared on his forehead again. Hissing in rage she stood there, her head swaying back and forth as she looked for a way to break past his magic. Seeing that she was still intent on killing him he reached into his long coat and pulled out a golden rod with two wings fringing either side of the top of it. It was radiating magic in soft pulses hypnotically. He held it straight out before him, meeting her eyes. "I said stop." He said, his voice level, but firm. "That's enough, Sarah." She hissed softly as her head rocked to and fro, the name catching hold of her and sending her anger down to a low simmer.

"Sarah?" Mokuba breathed behind him. "She's-"

"Be quiet, Mokuba!" He ordered, glancing back at the boy briefly. He returned his attention back to her at once. "You're safe now." She snarled at him, very sure that wasn't true and he pressed his lips together. "You know me! If I'm telling you that you're safe then you are! Look at me and remember!" The staff pulsed again, the light hitting her eyes at the command and a torrent of memories flooded into her mind. Shuddering all over she backed up, cowering away from the magic that was giving her these visions and keening at him pitifully. "It's alright." He said gently. "Calm down and go back now." He made a motion with his free hand toward the white human. "Go back, Sarah, you're hurt and I need to stop the bleeding." Letting out a low rumble she obeyed, closing her eyes and letting his magic guide her back.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When she woke up all she knew was that she hurt all over and felt very ill. Not remembering why she would be in this condition she could only assume her self-restraint had broken again and she had done the unthinkable. Forcing her eyes open it took her several moments to understand what she was seeing. Above her the ceiling was as white as a cloud and she frowned, having only ever seen such a color adorning the great tombs of the pharaohs. Turning her head she saw she was in a small room like nothing she had ever seen before. There was a strange silver chair sitting empty beside her and glowing boxes attached to the wall and sitting on poles. The floor had a strange pattern and shone as if it were made of wet ink and water. The bed she was on was high above the floor, resting precariously on wheels, which made no sense to her. Other items she had no name for lined the walls, beeping and humming, and a strange, sickly smell permitted the entire area.

Beyond confused she sat up, her head spinning, and hissed when a hot sting radiated up her arm. Looking down she saw there was a strange tube pressed against the crook of her elbow with some sort of bandage holding it down. Below that was another bandage that wrapped all the way around her arm from her wrist to just below the tube. Reaching down she clawed the sticky thing off and saw a glint of metal. Bitting her lip she tugged it out and was horrified to find that a long metal pin had been placed under her skin. Throwing it to the side violently she kicked the smooth blanket that had been placed on her off and tumbled out of the bed. Her bare feet slid on the strange floor and she fell, sprawling out on the slick ground. The jarring impact had a sharp throb roll over her and she grunted softly, trying to muffle the noise behind her lips. Feeling as if something was wrong with her sides she grabbed at the edge of the bed, which had strange silver arms, and hauled herself up with no little effort. The move pulled painfully at her side and she silently confirmed that she had at least one broken rib.

When she was up on her feet she went to inspect herself, her eyes darting around, and found that she was in a crudely made white gown that stopped just above her knees. Not recognizing the fabric or knowing where it came from she frowned. As she tried to work out what was happening she heard a low murmur of voices beyond the closed door, which was made with remarkable craftsmanship out of a wood she had never seen before. The voices were barely audible, but even so she couldn't understand what they were saying. Whatever it was it was in an odd dialect or language she had never encountered before. The voices got closer and she tensed, but then they began to fade and she could only assume that the people had walked by the door. After several seconds she crept forward, disliking this room and fully unsettled by her surroundings. Reaching out she slowly opened the door, pushing the metal handle down, and peeked outside.

What she found was an equally strange hallway filled with equally bizarre things. Every few feet was another well crafted door that lead she knew not where. Far down the passage she saw two people turning a corner, wearing white cloaks that stopped at their knees with dark pants below them. At a little alcove in the opposite direction a woman in a very strange hat with a red cross on it was sitting, looking down at something under her hands and paying no attention to her. She wondered what kind of slavers these were, but had no idea. Seeing no one else she eased out of the room, intent on leaving. Going away from the woman she moved silently, afraid someone would come after her. When she got to the corner where the two people had gone she craned her neck around it and saw another long hall and a different colored door with a window cut into it a few feet away. Moving to it she darted a glance inside and saw a stairway. It was the strangest set of stairs she had ever seen, but it did lead out of this place. Grabbing the handle she opened the heavy door and went through, pausing on the landing.

The stairs went both up and down, and were fenced in on one side by a wall and the other with several metal poles. Having never seen that much metal in one place she could only assume these people were wealthy indeed and gazed about, undecided on her directions. Down seemed the easiest, as she felt incredibly weak, but it was also likely that there were more people in that direction. Her hesitation decided for her, as a few moments later she heard a squeak below her and then more unrecognizable words. Afraid she would be captured she began going up fast, pushing the pain aside as she found her freedom far more important. She went up and around several times, wondering how far up this could go, or who could build like this. After several minutes she got to another door as the stairs stopped before it. Seeing no other way to go she pushed it open, noting the writing on it and wondering what it said. It didn't look familiar, but she had never learned to read, as that was something only great mages and the nobility were taught. She supposed it could be in Egyptian for all she knew, but doubted it greatly after hearing these people talk.

As she pushed the door open a blast of fresh, cool night air hit her and she went through eagerly, thinking she had found a way to escape. As she stepped out of the strange structure she had woken up in foreign, muffled sounds met her ears, and an unbelievable sight had her stopping dead. She had come out on the roof of the building, which she could only assume was built on the side of a hill. Beyond the edge of it, spread out below, was a dark, massive village, if that was what it could be called. Great buildings rose up into the dark sky, hundreds of feet high and crammed next to one another so closely she didn't know how they weren't blown against one another in the wind. A million lights shone out of them, lighting the night up as if it was predawn and driving the stars back into the heavens. The massive structures went on forever, the lights twinkling on far away mountains in the distance.

Her jaw dropped at the tableau, and when the door closed behind her with a heavy thud she jumped, startled. After several long moments she moved forward cautiously as she tried to understand what she was seeing. As she got to the lip of the building, a ten inch expanse of smoothed stone that was a foot or so higher than the ground, she stepped up onto it and gazed out, swaying slightly as her legs shook at the strain of keeping her up after going up all the stairs. Below her a sudden loud blast of sound erupted and she jumped again, her gaze flying toward the sound. She saw a flashing red light on top of the strangest chariot she had ever seen. Large and white it glowed with red magic as it was pulled by nothing, racing toward the building she was on and vanishing under it mysteriously. Just beyond the base of this structure was a vast black lake that held many more of the chariots, these dark and still. Frowning, she turned her attention upward again and stared out, trying to understand any of this.

Her mind felt foggy, as if she had slept far too long, and and she was trying to recall the last thing that had happened to her. She felt sick, her stomach aching and her head pounding, and she was overly warm, which wasn't helping her focus. Forcing the physical feelings away she thought back and recalled clearly being at the palace. She had been there for several weeks in the care of the high priest and she shifted, wondering where he was. Pushing her feelings for him back, if that were possible, she thought harder. She recalled being in an alley and meeting another man who looked like her priest, but wasn't, and then running across the desert. Then… she sucked in a sharp breath and set her hand on her chest. She had been hurt, badly, and then… then she had died. Not understanding at all she felt the spot where she had been mortally wounded and found nothing there but smooth skin. There was no trace of injury, or even scaring. Slowly, she lowered her hand, letting it hang next to her and went back to staring, unable to comprehend any of this and wondering what sort of after life this was.

She wasn't there long, barely long enough to start getting cold, when someone spoke behind her. She didn't understand the words, but turned her head at the sound, exhausted and thinking she was too tired to keep up her running. Who she saw had her mind reeling and an odd array of emotions hitting her all at once. Ten feet from her, with his hands held up in a peaceful, calming gesture was her priest. He was dressed oddly, in dark clothing rather than his symbolic white and royal blue. He was wearing a blue cape that wrapped around his arms and fell past his knees, much like the other two people she had seen here. When she met his eyes she saw the worry and concern in them, and also something else. They stood staring at one another for a long time as she wondered what miracle had brought him back to her. "Seto?" She asked, her voice breaking.

Relief filled his face when she said his name and he gestured for her to come to him, speaking in that same odd language. At her baffled look he frowned and she hesitated, unsure. He said something else, which she also didn't understand and when she didn't respond to him he edged a foot closer to her, his eyes darting over the edge of the building and then back to her with real concern. She realized he was afraid she was going to fall. "Where is this place?" She asked him, and he stopped moving as she searched his face for answers. "Is this the shadow realm or the next life, my priest?" He said nothing, his breath catching in his throat, and she put her hand on her heart, looking truly baffled. "There was pain." She told him. "And you were crying for me to stay." He sucked in a sharp breath. "And then I could only come to you in another way." Shaking her head she pressed her hands to her forehead, covering her face. "I've heard your endless call into the void, my priest, but where have you brought me this time? This is not Egypt."

"Kisara." He replied, this time speaking in a language she understood, his voice tight and stained. "Kisara, you're safe. Please, _please_ come here. I don't want to lose you again. Please, love, come to me, come down now. You could fall."

She let out an odd sound and lowered her arms, unafraid of the possibility, unafraid of falling when everything else was so unsettling and painful. "Where have we been?" A tear tracked down her cheek. "Why couldn't I hear you for so very long? Why are we in this strange place when I can see this is not the next world of rest and peace that we were promised?" Her breath hitched. "I waited for you, waited for you to follow me, and yet we are here."

"Trust me." He said, turning so he had one hand outstretched to her, palm up. "Trust that this time I will keep you safe." Stepping down she reached out she slipped her hand into his bigger one. He drew her to him quickly, and away from the edge of the roof. She let out a strangled sigh as his arms folded around her and pressed fully against him, her body molding against his even as he backed them up so they were well away from the danger of falling. He made a shushing sound when he felt her shaking and lowered his head, burying his face into her hair. "It's alright." He breathed. "It's alright, I promise." He assured her. "Nothing will hurt you here. Is that why you left your room?"

She clutched at him. "I didn't know where I was." She whispered. "None of it is right."

He nodded into her hair. "Come inside where it's warm." He whispered, carefully shrugging out of his cloak one arm at a time so he could keep hold of her. When it was off he wrapped her up in it as he backed them up toward the stairs. "It's too cold up here for you in nothing but that gown."

She followed him, staying in the circle of his arms and looking up at his face, tracing it with her eyes. When he had her back inside on the landing he brushed her hair back and smiled at her softly. Something about him, about his eyes, wasn't quite right. He tilted his head a little as she studied him critically, seeing what she was doing and not trying to hide anything. "You're different." She said at last, reaching up and catching his hand again. "You're older."

"We both are." He replied, not bothered. "How do you feel?"

"Strange, as if I know things I can't remember. I know this you." She told him, watching him closely as she reached up and touched his face, recognizing what she was seeing now. "You're the one I met in the city while I was looking for my priest, but you are my priest." He let her turn that over in her head and carefully put his hand over hers, searching her eyes for something. "But I know you more as well. I feel as if I should be… more than I am now." Relief filled his face and she realized all at once that her not remembering had him worried. For a moment she couldn't understand why, but then a thought occurred to her. He said they were both older, but she had been killed. There was only one explanation. "We've been reborn."

"Yes." He agreed.

She frowned. "Why don't I remember this life?"

"I don't know." He told her honestly. "But it took me a long time to remember my last one with you."

She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "The high priest forgetting himself? What will people say?"

He rolled his eyes, something she had never seen him do before. "I can see your sorry sense of humor is the same no matter how many times you pop back to life."

"I pleased to hear that."

He huffed, eyeing her in amusement. "Let's get you back now. We can talk in your room."

"I don't like that place." She informed him, not wanting to go back. "Take me somewhere else."

"I'll be happy to after the doctor assures me that all the poison is out of your system, you bossy thing." He began to lead her down the stairs. "But you're too sick to leave now."

"Sick?"

He hummed under his breath as they went down the stairs. "You've had at least three seizures since yesterday."

She didn't understand that at all, as one of the words wasn't in their language. "What?"

"A-" He frowned, realizing what had happened. "You're sick." He repeated again, unable to find the correct word.

"How was I poisoned?" She asked, thinking that explained why she felt so very bad. It wan't like her to get sick, even when others around her fell to disease.

"I don't know." He told her. "I'll find out soon." There was danger in his voice, suppressed fury, and she was very sure he wasn't pleased this had happened to her. "But one thing at a time."

She opened her mouth to reply, wondering many things, when she swayed hard. He held her up, shifting his grip to her waist when she faltered on the stair right above the next landing. "Kisara?" He asked sharply.

She put her hand back to her head. "Forgive me. I don't feel-" Out of nowhere she lost control of her body and began to spasm uncontrollably. He let out a shout of fear as she convulsed and quickly laid her on the landing, trying to hold her head down so she didn't hit it.

" _Kisara!_ " She couldn't answer, couldn't make herself stop, and as her back arched everything went black and there was nothing left but the sound of him calling to her in the darkness.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Zero Defects

As he waited for a light to change he sat quietly in his car at an intersection on his way back to the hospital, lost in his own internal conflict. The last few days had been horrific and he was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He had left the hospital about ten hours ago only because he was about to drop. By that point he'd been awake for nearly three days, and not one of them had been a good one. After being sure Roland would not be budging from his spot next to her door at the hospital he had gone home to sleep and didn't as much as twitch for eight hours. When he woke up he showered, changed, and headed to Sarah's apartment to get her a change of clothes. He doubted any version of her would want to be in that horrible hospital gown much longer, and the clothes she'd been in when they got her to the emergency room had been stained with her blood and coated in a fine layer of sand in more than one place. He had been relieved no one bothered to ask about that, because he had no good explanation for it short of the truth, which he wasn't about to share.

When he left Sarah, or Kisara, was asleep again and had another IV in her arm with medication that was meant to clear out the lingering effects of the neurotoxin the medical team had found in her bloodstream, which was what appeared to be causing the seizures as well as the disorientation Mokuba had told him about. The doctors had assured him a few hours before he left very early this morning that the last of the danger had passed, and the likelihood of her having another seizure were very slim. Despite his very thorough understanding of what the word slim meant he had been less than reassured. It was bad enough seeing it when he had managed to get her to the emergency room and the doctors and nurses knew what to do, to have her start to convulse that way in the staircase when he was alone had been one of the most terrifying moments of his life.

Taking in a measured breath he tried to calm himself, unsure of what to do with Kisara. He had been stunned speechless when he realized who he had found standing up on the roof. He had thought, naively perhaps, that she would never remember their past and they could go on the way they were forever. At first that had stung at him, chaffing at the part of him that was the priest as he had loved Kisara more than any words could ever express, but as time went on that injustice of that had diminished and he began to bond with her in this life, began to bond with Sarah. While he loved Kisara deeply, he wouldn't know what to do if Sarah's memory had somehow been erased by the return of her past self. Sarah was his friend and companion as much as his lover, and he needed her in as many ways as he needed Kisara. They were both who they had been in their last lives in so many ways, but they were different as well. In this life he needed Sarah, needed the more complex relationship she could offer him. His short time with Kisara had been intense, but the priest had known little about her save that he had rescued her from a group of slavers when they were young. Truly, they had only known each other for a month all told, and he wondered that they could have loved each other so strongly and intensely in such a small amount of time. If he were honest with himself he was terrified of the possibility that Sarah might be gone, and was beating back the overwhelming feelings of fear and grief in the hopes that something could be done to bring her memory back.

He had also realized, at some point in his tired haze, that he had inadvertently done this to her himself. Despite his promise about never telling her about their past, and his continual efforts to keep others from doing the same, it had been at his own command that she knew. He had told her to remember, having intended nothing more than her recalling her current life, but clearly he had been careless with his words in his panic to mitigate the situation. The power of the millennium rod allowed it's owner to control people's minds, and he had more than tapped into that power when he saw her about to kill both his brother and her human body as she went out of control in the shadow realm. The millennium rod, which already wanted the blue eyes white dragon fully back in his control, had taken his words and run wild with them, making her remember everything it seemed. Pulling into the hospital parking lot he found a spot toward the back and parked. As he got out, taking her backpack out with him, he glanced up at the building, which was about fifteen stories high and modern even by Domino standards, having been built as a state of the art medical facility just over a year ago. Looking it over he was once again unsurprised Kisara had fled when she woke up. The items in the hospital, which to people in this time were normal and understood to an extent even if they weren't medical professionals, must surely appear either terrifying or magical, or both. Considering her experience with magic, which wasn't really what he would call positive, she must have been frightened. He probably would have bolted too.

Walking into the building he stopped at the reception desk and got a visitor's pass, ignoring his impatience with the procedure as it was meant to keep everyone here safe, and then headed to the elevators. Getting out on the eleventh floor he headed toward her room and spotted Roland glancing into the room, looking worried. He increased his speed at once, adjusting the strap of the backpack on his shoulder, and his bodyguard looked over when he heard his hurried footsteps. He shifted out of the way and he stepped past the other man at once. Kisara was sitting up in bed, hunched over herself awkwardly. Half leaning back against the bed, which was tilted up at an angle for her, she had one of her legs pulled up to her chest with the other crooked out at an angle under the blanket. She had her elbow resting on her knee and her forehead was propped on the palm of her hand. Her hair was covering most of her face, but she looked sick. He noted that the IV was gone and a new bandage and been placed on her arm. The doctors must have finished with the medication since he left. "Are you alright?" He asked in Egyptian.

She looked up, still appearing disoriented, but her eyes filling with relief when she saw him. "Not especially." She told him in English, her voice laced with exhaustion. "No one will tell me what's going on or why I'm in the hospital." Her face filled with frustration. "Which is mostly likely due to the fact that for some reason I can't understand anything that isn't English."

He eyed her up and down critically, because she had just understood what he said in Egyptian and clearly hadn't recognized that at all. At his marked and unusual hesitation Roland spoke softly behind him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, English was never my strongest subject. I told her you would be back shortly when she woke up, but that was the best I could do. She's been pretty agitated, but she's stayed in bed when I motioned for her to." His frown deepened and Roland went on. "The doctor said it was likely the seizures gave her some sort of short term memory loss."

"Sarah?" He asked after a protracted moment where he absorbed that.

She grunted softly as she put her head back down in her hand, as if she were too dizzy to keep looking up. "What's going on?" She asked him in the most plaintive tone he'd ever heard come out of her. He didn't think she intended to sound that pitiful, which only increased his own agitation as he tried to beat his confusion over her switch back to her modern self away. "I don't remember anything after we got to the arena and I sat down with Mokuba. Nothing that makes any sense anyway, just crazy images."

Baffled, disappointed despite his terror over Sarah's possible loss, and massively relieved all at once he moved further into the room, unsure of what the hell was going on. Clearly, this was Sarah and not Kisara, although he could find no reason for the switch back to her current personality and memories. And if she couldn't remember anything since before the duel started then she clearly had no idea about either her transformation or her past self once again. He made a motion with his hand toward his bodyguard and Roland backed out at once at the silent order, pulling the door shut behind him to give them privacy. Setting the bag down on the floor he sat on the edge of her bed and put his arms around her. Pulling her against him carefully he kissed the side of her head as some of the tension drained out of him. He felt better now, massively so, knowing his Sarah was back, but was also concerned as there was no way her memories were simply gone again. He didn't have that sort of luck. "That's okay." He assured her, his voice sounding oddly gruff as he stroked her hair back behind her ear, calmed by the warm weight of her against him.

Sarah pressed against his side, keeping her face down. "I'm really glad you're here, but what happened?"

He cleared his throat, surprised to find it had constricted as some of his fear of her dying fell away, as the relief of having her back crashed over him. At the odd sound she glanced up slowly and her blue eyes went sharp, seeing that something was wrong. "Someone slipped a neurotoxin into your system somehow." He told her and she frowned up at him. Any thought he'd had of telling her what actually happened was tossed aside at once. He thought at the moment informing her she had been poisoned was more than enough for her to handle. Sarah would never believe what had happened if she couldn't remember it. "After you got to the stadium Mokuba said you felt sick and left to go to the bathroom. He went after you when you didn't come back and found you having a seizure in a different part of the park. You must have been disoriented and walked outside. You've been here for three days."

She stared up at him blankly. "Someone _drugged_ me?"

"Yes."

She took that in for several long moments. "I'm bruised all over." She told him. "Drugs didn't do that."

"You may have fallen somewhere along the way after you wandered out of the stadium." He lied. "Or something else could have happened before Mokuba found you."

"You mean someone attacked me." She stated, her eyes tired and unsurprised. It was the look of someone used to being beaten and he hated it. He hated that his own carelessness and feelings of invulnerability had led to this. He knew better. "That doesn't make any sense. Why leave me beaten instead of killing me, or raping me, or kidnapping me-"

"Stop it." He ordered roughly, deeply upset by the thought of any of that. Hearing her say it so matter of factly made him sick.

"Well what was the point of it then?" She asked tiredly, putting her head back down again. "Why would anyone drug me to begin with? I don't feel as if I'm important enough to do that to."

He rubbed small circles over her upper arm with his thumb, thinking she was wrong about that in so many ways. Even if she wasn't what she was, even if their past and magic had nothing to do with it, just being close to him put her in danger. Even if their relationship wasn't public, even if it had just started, it had gotten around that they were friends. His entire company knew she was his favorite, and he was who he was and hadn't bothered to try to hide it or play it off. He had simply gone on because he wanted that friendship and he wanted her in his life. So, like everything he wanted he took it, everyone else be damned. And even if that was all it was, only friendship and nothing else, he was sure it would be enough to tempt someone to do something with her if they thought it would get him to give into a demand, and that was just the normal psychopaths. What they were dealing with now was on a whole different level. "I'm going to find out who did this." He promised. "And I won't let anyone hurt you again."

She nodded, really believing him, and he relaxed a little more at her faith in him. "Okay, Seto." She rallied herself a bit and looked back up at him, leaning her head into his shoulder and taking him in. "Are you alright? You look like a hot mess honestly."

"You're one to talk." He teased, finding normalcy in the banter. "To think I'm dating someone that lets herself go this way."

She squawked indignantly. "I don't even have a toothbrush here! And they won't let me get up!"

Smiling slightly, he got up, slipping off the bed carefully so he wouldn't jostle her. "I brought you your toothbrush." He told her, pleased he had made the stop at her apartment. Picking the bag up he set it next to her. "And a change of clothes."

"Thank you." She said sincerely. "This gown is a nightmare."

"And about three sizes too big." He agreed, tugging a the side of it with two fingers. "I'll go ask the doctor when you're going to be discharged. I know you don't like hospitals."

"You're kind of the best, so I'm going to ignore the fact that you got a copy of my key without asking, or picked my lock." She told him as she opened the bag to see what he had brought her. "You even thought of a hairbrush."

"Don't change until I'm sure I can take you home." He told her. "They'll just make you change back again."

"My jeans!" She said with tired happiness, ignoring his advise. "Awesome."

Shaking his head he opened the door and found Roland standing there with his arms crossed on the other side of the hallway. He pulled the door closed behind him, giving her some privacy in case she decided to go ahead and change clothes anyway. "How long has she been awake?" He asked the other man quietly.

"About two hours." Roland told him. "She woke up when the nurse was checking on her and panicked. It sounded like she was having a nightmare and the woman shook her awake. She calmed down when she saw me, but she couldn't understand what I was telling her. She was talking, but I don't think it was in English for the first forty minutes or so. I couldn't recognize anything she was saying, but she speaks so many languages I'm not sure which one she was on, or if she was scrambling them all up together." He shrugged. "She's been asking for you since she woke up, I think. Your name was the only thing I got most of the time."

"You should have called me as soon as she was up." He told him, annoyed he wasn't informed the moment she was conscious.

"Ando said you were still sleeping." Roland told him apologetically. "I would have had him wake you up if anything was really wrong. After the first minute or so she was calm enough. She's a bit of a temper on her though. I think she would have beaten us all back if she wasn't so sick."

He huffed at that, the man really had no idea. "I noticed." He glanced around for the doctor. "Did they tell you when she could leave?"

"No, but I didn't ask. I can go get the doctor for you."

"Good." He agreed, turning to go back into the room. Sarah hadn't changed clothes, having left her bag on the foot of the bed, but was brushing her teeth in the bathroom. "Are you allowed to be up?" He asked as he stepped past the small washroom. She spoke around the toothbrush, her words muffled, but sounding very much like she was telling him he shouldn't have brought it if she wasn't meant to use it. Despite his concern for her he smiled slightly again as he sat down in the chair beside the bed to wait for her. A few minutes later and Sarah limped back out of the bathroom, clearly favoring her right side as she went, and was using the wall to help support herself. His amusement faded at once and he got up, helping her back into the bed so she wouldn't tip over.

"I'm fine, Seto." She said, reading his mind as he made her sit back down. "I'm just off balance."

"You're the worst liar I've ever met." He informed her, pulling the blanket back over her legs. "I doubt you'll be leaving today."

Instead of arguing she slumped back, putting her hand over her face tiredly as she shifted to her side and curled up a little. Her complete lack of argument over that was unsettling and he sat back down next to her and reached over to stroke her hair. Sarah let out a low sigh of approval and stilled, and the image of her laying in nearly the same position in the center of that shadow realm ruin blasted through his head. The moment his blue eyes had hesitated in the duel he should have known something was wrong. Never once had his great dragon been anything but instantly obedient, and yet there had been a brief moment of oddness that he had dismissed as a possible side effect of his AI program. He would not deny he had put more coding into his dragon than the other monsters, but he felt more than justified doing it as it was his favorite and he was the one creating the program. Her entrance onto the field had been spectacular, it had been everything he had wanted, and the fearsome display had awed and frightened the audience, which had been perfect, the showcase he had wanted broadcast around the world.

Still, he hadn't noticed anything was really wrong until the end of the match. It seemed strange she had been circling the field overhead, but other monsters had done the same in other duels he had observed using the program, specifically the harpy lady and the red eyes black dragon, and once again he dismissed it, intent on decimating Keith with all the pomp and circumstance the display deserved. But when his blue eyes had stared down at him and cried out as if she was in real pain he knew something was terribly wrong. All at once he had felt the tingle of magic running along his spine and realized he had been feeling it since the duel started and had set it down to the welcome rush of adrenaline he got when he was in the spotlight. But her eyes… they had been the same as Sarah's in that moment, not those of a mindless hologram, and when he turned to look for her in the crowd he saw that the two seats that Mokuba and Sarah had occupied only twenty minutes before were empty. He had ended the duel at once, not bothering to toy with the other man any longer, and sent Keith's life points plummeting to zero. As soon as the holograms vanished he turned on his heel and strode out of the arena.

Thankfully, he wasn't known for his politeness and no one had found the abrupt exit odd. As he vanished under the stadium, keeping his composure until he was out of sight of the crowd, he looked down at his duel disk and was stunned and momentarily baffled to see that the card with his blue eyes white dragon on it was blank. He had ripped it off the disk and held it up, but the image was utterly gone and he sucked in a sharp breath. There was only one reason for her card to be blank. Her soul was no longer safely in his possession. Reaching into his trench coat he pulled out the millennium rod and held it tightly, trying to use it to search for her. "Where is she?" He demanded harshly, and the wadjet began to glow. Grunting, he shielded his own eyes, and when he managed to blink the spots away he found himself standing in front of a large stone door with the blue eyes engraved into it. He could feel the cold, oppressive feel of the shadow realm seeping out of it and knew no good could come from this. Pressing his lips together he shoved it open, more than ready to face whatever it was that was going on.

He was momentarily disoriented when he stepped out into the very place Kisara had died so many millennia ago. He recoiled internally at the sight, but then he heard the enraged roaring. Turning his head he spotted his brother desperately trying to shield Sarah with his body as lightning rained down over the area dangerously, and a hundred feet beyond that the blue eyes white dragon was being sucked toward a dragon capture jar. Without thinking he yanked a counter trap out of his deck and set it off with his magic. The jar had exploded, and free of the possibility of capture she had viciously attacked whoever that man had been, but he felt a blast of magic and could only assume whoever the other man was he had used his own millennium item to escape the bubble dimension he had created in an effort to get her. The dragon had been anything but pleased by the escape and had turned on Mokuba in rage. Without thinking he had put himself between them, knowing that he could calm her if given a few moments. That had worked he supposed, but not as well as he would have thought. He had never imagined he would need to use the millennium rod to make her listen, as he'd never had a problem with that before, but then again she had never been ripped out of her injured human form before either.

Regardless of the reason, which he would think over more carefully once he had Sarah back to a healthy and functional state, he had managed to stop her and return her soul to her body. After that things had been a nightmare of blood, fear, and confusion. The situation hadn't improved much over the next few hours even once they got her to the emergency room, because no sooner had he arrived with an ashen, nearly comatose Mokuba behind the ambulance than she had started having seizures. He had been left in the emergency waiting room holding his brother up and trying not to start hurling things about the room in rage over the injustice of it all. Mokuba had said nothing the entire time they were there, only sat silently staring after where Sarah was as they tried to stabilize her, or was passed out in a chair. He had finally left once they moved her out of critical care early that morning to take his brother home. He had been terrified to leave before he knew what was going on, terrified she might die as a result of the duel, or whatever the doctors told him she'd been drugged with, and equally terrified to let his brother out of his sight, even with Roland there to take him home. He hadn't been gone more than thirty minutes to drop Mokuba off to sleep at the mansion, to find Sarah had escaped her room when no one was watching. At least he had found her before she could get any farther than the roof. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if she had wandered outside and gotten lost in the state she was in.

"Will you take me home?" She asked, bringing him back to the present. Letting her hand drop she met his eyes, hers filled with exhaustion. "I hate hospitals. I'd rather feel bad in my own bed."

"I know you don't like it here." He replied, reaching up and running his hand over her head, but didn't promise anything. Stubborn as she was he wasn't letting her out of here until the doctors said it was safe. It was worth the fight.

"And I missed your duel and our date." She continued, clearly upset. "I really wanted to see you win. How badly did you crush Keith by the way?"

"I was satisfied." He replied, keeping his face impassive.

Sarah sighed sadly. "I wish I had been there."

She had no idea how much she was. "It's not important."

"Yeah it is." She replied. "Maybe we can watch it online later and you can give me a personal commentary. I bet it's saved on about a million sites by now." He hummed in agreement and she changed the subject. "Is Mokuba okay? I must have freaked him out."

He supposed that depended on her definition of okay. He had no idea how Mokuba was, other than still recovering his stamina from a shadow duel. So far Mokuba hadn't said anything about what had happened, but he knew it was only a matter of time now before they had time to talk. "He's fine." He assured her, although he wasn't entirely sure that was true.

Sarah smiled at him tiredly and there was a knock on the door. Turning his head he let his hand slide away from her as the doctor came in. The woman was in her mid forties and had a plain but welcoming sort of face. "Good morning."

Sarah let out a sigh of frustration and forced herself into a sitting position before he could try to stop her. She swayed, but kept herself up as she spoke in English. "I can't understand her, Seto."

"She said good morning." He told her before turning to the doctor and switching to his first language. "Sarah's first language is English. She's having trouble with the others she's learned."

The doctor nodded and turned to Sarah and spoke haltingly in English. "It's been a very long time since I spoke English. The nurse coming to her shift at noon is fluent. Would you like to wait for her or would you be comfortable with Mr. Kaiba translating for us?"

Sarah looked at him in askance and he shrugged, not wanting to invade her privacy if she didn't want him there, but also wanting to know what was going on. However, pushing what he wanted would likely backfire with her. "It's up to you."

"Seto can translate." She told the doctor and then sighed in frustration. "This is my job."

"It's fine." He soothed.

Sarah clearly didn't agree. "Can you ask her when I'll get this back?"

He nodded, very aware she would be stuck on this until she had an answer. "Sarah wants to know how long it will be until she can understand other languages again. She's my translator at Kaiba Corp. She speaks a dozen languages fluently. She's understandably upset about this."

The doctor moved to her and he got up so he was out of the way as the doctor pulled a small flashlight out. Smiling at Sarah warmly she set her hand under her chin and tilted her head up so she could shine the light in her eyes. Sarah grimaced, but didn't pull away. "I would think she should be back to normal in a few days, possibly a week. Side effects of seizures can be fairly broad, and the neurotoxin in her system did more to her than that. I would expect her to be tired over the next few days while she recovers, but there's no reason to think she won't remember everything she's encoded in her long term memory. If she'll get back anything directly after she was poisoned I'm less certain about, but the possibility is there."

He nodded, summarizing, and fully relieved that she might not remember any of this and they could simply go back to their lives, or at least she could while he worked out how to kill whoever it was that did this to her, because he was going to kill them."She thinks no more than a week on the language issue, but isn't sure you'll remember anything that happened after you were poisoned." Clearly, Sarah was a much more skilled and patient translator than he was, but he thought that covered all of it.

Sarah relaxed noticeably, and he was sure she had been very worried that she would somehow lose the skill that kept her working, as if that would mean he would let her starve to death or something equally ridiculous. The doctor went on. "Can you ask her how she's feeling? Specifically?"

"She wants to know how you feel."

Sarah shrugged. "I'm dizzy and have a headache."

He translated and the doctor nodded, taking her wrist to feel her pulse. "Ask her about her ribs."

"You're ribs?" He asked, confused by the question.

"Are broken." Sarah replied tiredly, and he frowned, having not been told that. He had seen the chains around her before he blasted them off her with his magic, but he hadn't really bothered to look at her sides. He had been much more worried by her arm, which had resulted in a disturbingly large pool of blood forming around her. It hadn't occurred to him to check and cursed himself for not being more careful. He hadn't exactly been gentle as he could have been as he carried her out to meet the ambulance.

He glanced at the doctor. "Her ribs are broken?"

"Yes, two of them on her right side. Does she want a painkiller?"

"Do you want anything for the pain?"

"No." Sarah replied. "Can I go home?"

"She wants to know if you'll discharge her." He replied.

"I'd like to keep her here until early afternoon to monitor her. Her blood work came back normal this morning, but I'm concerned she's still dizzy and that she can't speak Japanese right now if she's normally fluent in it. If she can walk straight by then she can go."

"Not until after lunch at the earliest." He told her, not phrasing it as an option, although he knew by law they couldn't keep her here.

Her shoulders slumped. "Fine."

"Do what the doctor says." He told her firmly. "A few more hours here won't hurt you even if you don't like it."

She sent him an irritated glance. "Stop being bossy."

He raised an eyebrow in challenge, knowing this was an argument worth having with her if she was going to be stubborn about it. "And take the painkillers." He told her, knowing very well what she was doing. "It's not worth you being in pain so you can think straight and fake that you're fine to get out of here. If you aren't I'll just bring you right back." She pressed her lips together in irritation at being caught in that scheme. "She's decided she would like something for the pain." He told the doctor as she sulked.

"Somehow I doubt that's what she just said." The doctor replied, appearing entertained by the battle of wills she could see but not understand. "But I'll bring her something. I doubt she's comfortable." She went on as Sarah leaned back in the bed, tired, but impatient. "Is she allergic to anything? Does she have any past medical history that might cause any sort of complications?"

"No, she doesn't have any allergies." He told the doctor, already knowing that. "And she doesn't have any medical issues."

"Any possibility of pregnancy?" She asked.

He fought down his very interesting and undefinable reaction to that and answered her. "No."

"Check with her please." The doctor instructed.

"She wants to know if you have any medical problems she should know about, or if you might be pregnant."

"I mean, maybe if we'd gone on our date." She replied moodily, and he stared at her, his eyebrow raising, completely thrown by her total lack of filter once again, and trying not to show it behind his impassive mask. Sarah realized what she had said a moment after it came out of her mouth and her entire face went from porcelain, to pink, to red. She started babbling at once. "I mean, I have birth control obviously. Not that I, not that it was, not that you should think, I mean, oh my gosh." She put her head down in her knees, trying to hide. "I should have waited for the nurse." She whispered, mortified, and refusing to look up at him. Despite everything, all the stress, the exhaustion, and his very real concern over what had happened, and her health emergency, a snort of gleeful, self-satisfied laughter escaped him. "I hate you so much." She informed him, talking into her knees.

Clearing his throat as he got himself under control he spoke to the doctor, amusement thick in his voice. "No, she's not pregnant."

The doctor raised her eyebrow, but let it alone. "Is there anything else I should know before I leave?"

"Is there anything else you want me to tell her?" He asked. "Anything that might lead to your death or further permanent mental instability?"

"You aren't even funny." She informed him. "But no."

"There's nothing else."

"Alright, I'll have the nurse bring her something and come back in a few hours to check on her." The doctor sent him a smile. "She's much calmer now that you're here. Tell her to stay in bed until she's not so dizzy. I don't want her to tip over and hurt herself worse than she is." He nodded and the woman left, taking Sarah's chart and scribbling in it as she left.

He was still smirking, fully pleased with himself, as the door shut yet again and Sarah grumbled as she finally emerged from her very useless hiding place. "Shut up. I did not mean to say that. I am clearly not at my best right now."

It was simply too easy to tease her about it right now, and he was sure she couldn't even put up a decent fight feeling the way she was, so graciously he beleived, he let it pass, although the smug smile stayed on his face. "I-" Before he could finish his phone rang and he sighed in annoyance, pulling it out. Seeing that it was Yuka he answered it. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Kaiba." His secretary said. "But there's been an emergency shut down in your experimental lab. The project manager said the AI program may have overloaded the computer."

Knowing he couldn't ignore that, not when production needed to be streamlined as quickly as possible, he forced his anger at the interruption back. "Tell him to shut everything down. I'll be there shortly."

"Of course, Mr. Kaiba. I'll be sure that's done."

Closing the phone he put it back in his pocket and looked back up at Sarah regretfully. She had turned on her side to face him and had her head resting on the mattress. "You have to go." She stated with surety.

"It can wait." He said, deciding to stay after one glance at her tired, pain filled eyes. She might be trying to hide it, but she was clearly in a bad way.

She sent him a look that told him she wasn't buying that at all. "You have more important things to do than sit here with me all day."

"No, I don't." He told her honestly.

Her expression softened and her cheeks flushed pink again. "I'm fine here, Seto." She told him. "I'm just going to sit here until they let me leave. Go do whatever it is you need to do." He didn't move and she made a shooing motion. "Go on. I'm really fine."

"You have to stay in that bed." He ordered. "I mean it, or I"m staying here."

"I promise not to get up until they say I can." She agreed. "I'll call you when I get home."

"Roland will take you home if they discharge you before I get back." He told her firmly, standing up.

"I can call a cab."

"In Japanese?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or were you hoping for the best?"

She wrinkled her nose in frustration. "Fine, but he has better things to do than watch me."

"Not today he doesn't." He assured her. "Be good for them. They're helping you." She sighed again, giving up on the whole thing, and he let his more gentle side back out. "It's only for a few more hours."

"I know." She agreed quietly.

Leaning down he cupped her cheek and kissed her gently. Sarah arched up into the kiss and warm contentment filled him. Rubbing her cheek he pulled away, smiling down at her. "I'll see you soon. I'm glad you're back."

"I didn't go anywhere." She told him.

His insides knotted. "You almost did." He replied, unable to stop himself from kissing her again. Sarah reached up and put her hands on his face, holding him to her for several long moments before letting him get away.

"I have too much fun driving you to distraction to die, Seto Kaiba." She informed him seriously. "Now go on, you have things to do and I'm told I need to practice behaving."

"I've set you up for failure I'm sure." He replied as he headed toward the door. "I put your cell phone in your bag. Call me if you need anything, or when they discharge you."

"I will." She agreed, shifting carefully and pulling the sheet a bit higher up. "See you in a little bit."

"Yes, you will." He promised as he left, fighting the urge to stay the whole way.

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Hours later, having skipped lunch and mostly lost track of time, he had his arms up to his elbows in the supercomputer in one of the labs at Kaiba Corp, trying to figure out what was going on. The AI program, while massive, wasn't big enough to overload this thing, and yet there were alerts going off left and right. He had Noah investigating as well, but he was handicapped by only existing virtually. Someone needed to be moving things around manually who also knew what to look for and could fix issues as they came up. There were several other computer engineers in here with him, all competent and trying to help him isolate the problem, which was frustratingly elusive. As he examined a circuit board closely, unsure if it was the hardware or software that was tripping them up, his phone rang and he muttered to himself as he leaned back out of the computer. Pulling his phone out he saw Sarah's number and picked up at once, thankful for the distraction despite his normally disturbing intensity in such matters. "Did you get home safely?" He asked, wondering if they were going to need to replace at least half the memory on this thing to fix it.

"I'm still at the hospital." She told him and he frowned when he noted she was speaking Egyptian again. It was even more worrisome because he knew she hadn't learned that in this life. It was clearly leaking over from her last one. "They won't let me leave yet."

"Why?" He demanded, underlying worry in his voice as he too switched to that langauge. Really, he had been hoping she would have been discharged after what the doctor said. He could only assume something wasn't going as well as hoped, which had his anxiety rocketing up yet again.

She ignored this question. "It was the coffee."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"The coffee." She repeated. "I couldn't figure out how they drugged me, or why they would drug me." Sarah sounded so tired. "I was with both of you all day, except when I ran home to change, and we ate all the same things except the coffee. It wasn't supposed to be me that was drugged, it was supposed to be you. You're the only one that drinks it and everyone knows that. It was just random chance that I drank it. I haven't had any since I moved here, but it smelled so good." He was silent as he processed that, livid and confused. It has seemed as if it were certainly her that man was after, but perhaps not. And why the hell hadn't he thought to check that? "Don't drink anything anyone gives you."

"I'll take care of this, Sarah." He told her. "Did you have another seizure? Is that why you're still there?"

"No." She told him. "I'm only dizzy. I'm really okay."

"I find it hard to believe that's the only reason they would keep you there." He stated.

There was a brief pause before she answered. "I couldn't remember my address." She told him quietly. "And right after you left I apparently started speaking something other than English, but no one knew what it was and I couldn't tell the difference either." She didn't like that at all, sounding fully unsettling. Even now she was continuing to speak in Egyptian, having not noticed, and was replacing untranslatable words with English ones. "And it's still all jumbled up wrong and it won't follow the rules properly at all."

"Rules?" He asked, confused.

"Languages have rules." She told him. "Some of them are crazy rules, but they all have them. You just have to know what they are and it's easy. But I can't seem to put the right rules with the right language." She sighed tiredly. "But I think I have Japanese mostly right again, except my head hurts so bad I can't hold conversations for very long except in English, which is fairly ridiculous if you think about it since it really has no rules at all. I mean, seriously, it's like the wild card language. It makes no sense when you start to think about it."

"It's your first language." He said. "Of course that's the easiest."

She pushed on. "I didn't call to tell you any of that. I'm rambling and I know you're busy. I wanted you to be careful about someone putting something in your food or your drinks is all."

"I'll be careful." He told her. "And I'm going to come check on you tonight. If they release you before that call me back."

"You don't have to." She told him. "I'm really okay."

"No, you really aren't." He told her in that tone that told her he was going to get his way. "I'll see you in a few hours. If you need anything call me back."

"Okay, Seto." She said, surprisingly meek. "Bye."

"Goodbye, Sarah." He said, his voice calm. However, as he slipped his phone back in his pocket worry began to gnaw at him. Clearly, something was very wrong, and he wasn't sure exactly what had been shaken lose in her mind, or what that might mean for her, or for him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later and he was walking back into her hospital room after sending Roland home for the evening. Sarah had changed into the clothes he brought her and was signing forms to be released, which was clearly taking all her concentration to do. She looked better, and her hair was a bit damp so she must have been stable enough to be allowed to take a shower. As she sat on the bed struggling through reading he knocked lightly on the door to get her attention. She looked up when she heard that and gave him a strained smile. "You're back." She said.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, eyeing her critically.

"Better." She told him truthfully. "And ready to leave." She finished the last of the paperwork as she spoke. "And now I suppose I can. I was about to call you actually."

"I'll take you home." He told her, helping her to her feet after slinging her pack over one of his shoulders.

She kept them firmly under her, appearing much more steady than she had been only a few hours ago. She nodded, switching back to her first language. "Do you mind if we speak English?" She asked. "I got Japanese and French back about two hours ago, but it's still pretty hard for me to work through right at this moment. I feel like I have a loose wire or something."

"Of course." He agreed, switching to her native language with ease.

"Thank you." She said gratefully. "I suppose if nothing else this gives me a very firm understanding of what it's like for normal people to try to learn a second language."

His lips curled up. "It was about time you gained some empathy for the rest of us."

"Yeah, no one would ever classify you as a normal person under any category, Mr. Genius." She said as they headed out. She handed the paperwork to the nurse at the desk and thanked her sincerely for all her help. He nodded to the woman, and then led Sarah out to his car, mindful that he wasn't outpacing her. Despite her insistence she was fine she was limping, and he wasn't fully convinced she was altogether fully balanced. "So should I even ask about what I did when I was apparently in a hallucinogenic state? One of the nurses said I pulled a fast one and went up on the roof."

His eyes slid to hers as they walked down the hall. "You were just confused, Sarah. You came right back down with me."

She sighed unhappily, clearly picking up that he wasn't being fully truthful. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Another long pause. "What exactly do you remember?" He asked at last, being very sure not to trap himself into an answer in any direction.

"I remember going to our seats in the stadium, and seeing you walk out…" She trailed off as she fought for information. "And then…I was there again, in the stadium? No, that can't be right." Sarah stopped talking for several moments as she tried to catch the elusive thought, but it seemed to evade her and she slowed to a halt. "You were there." She blinked rapidly, her pupils contracting. "You were..." He was standing right in front of her listening intently, on edge. "It was...different. You were different and the same." That clearly didn't make any sense to her at all and her forehead crinkling. "But you were in two places at once." She shook her head as they stood in a corridor of the hospital. "That must have been some sort of drug."

Reaching over he caught her hand on impulse and began to lead her forward again. "Apparently you simply have some subconscious wanderlust." He told her. "You didn't do anything overly strange considering how confused you were. You don't need to worry so much. Are you alright with the elevator?"

"Yeah, it's fine." She agreed, lacing her fingers into his. "What was going on at work?"

"A computer issue." He told her. "I have a program running a full diagnostic. There's not much else I can do until it finishes tomorrow."

"It's going to take that long?" She asked with surprise.

"It's searching through an entire super computer." He told her. "Sadly, I've been forced to be patient." Her lips twitched up at that as they got onto the elevator and rode it down to the first floor, with her squeezing his hand and trying to pretend the small space didn't bother her. Once they were in the lobby he kept moving toward the exit, wanting to get her home so they could both relax. As they stepped out into the open she sucked in a deep breath of relief, taking in their surroundings.

"This is a nice hospital." She told him. "I mean, I don't really like them, but it is really nice. I've never been in one that was this good before. It's the same one Mokuba was at with his appendix isn't it?"

"Yes." He agreed, thinking he should really donate to this place after what they'd done for both of them. Clearly the staff was competent, the hospital well run, and the care was excellent. He'd certainly given money to far less worthy institutions. Spotting his car in the crowded lot he pulled his keys out and swung the ring around his index finger absently. When they got to it he went to the passenger side and unlocked it for her, holding the door open. She smiled at him as she slid gingerly inside and he tossed her bag in the back before moving to the drivers side. They left the lot with no further incident and Sarah began playing with the radio, seemingly to pass the time more than anything. After several minutes of silence he changed the subject as he merged onto the freeway. "I have all the videos and the list of everyone that was working that night. My security team is going through it now."

"That's good." She said, shaking herself out of whatever she was thinking. "Although I don't envy anyone that task. The theme park was nuts that night."

"By this time tomorrow I'll have whoever did this to you." He told her, not caring one whit about how hard the task was.

"At least it was me and not either of you." She said reasonably. "Not that I wanted to be drugged, but still it could have been worse. Someone must have been trying to sabotage the presentation of the new system."

"It shouldn't have happened at all." He snapped, his temper flaring. He cared very little about why it had happened. "And it shouldn't have happened to you."

She sighed tiredly. "I'm really all right, Seto."

"Other than not being able to speak anything but English, having several seizures, fighting off vertigo, and nearly dying several times over the course of the last few days you're just fine." He agreed sarcastically.

"I guess it's pointless to tell you to relax about it."

"Very." He agreed. "I'm going to take you home and then go find who did this."

"I would really like to lay down in my own bed." She agreed, realizing there was no getting this out of his head. "I miss my pillow."

He sent her a look. "Your pillow?"

"Oh come on. I know you have to have a favorite pillow. Everyone has a favorite pillow. Mine is one of those memory foam ones that conforms to your head."

"Of course it is." He replied, finding her ridiculously adorable. "I'll be sure to buy you ten more if it keeps you in bed resting."

"I mean, that probably won't really tempt me all that much if I want to get up." She told him. "But we could make an awesome pillow fort."

He huffed in amusement as they came up to her apartment building. Turning into the underground garage he pulled out the security card he had for the gate and swiped it quickly. "Thank you for taking me home." She told him as the gate opened to let them through.

"It's not a problem." He told her as he parked next to her car.

Sarah unclipped her seatbelt. "The doctor said I shouldn't go into work until Monday. I could probably make it if you needed me for something though. I'll send the note to HR in the morning."

"There's nothing that urgent." He replied, fully intending to keep her off until she had recovered. Reaching back he took the bag before she could think to grab it and got out. Sarah escaped the car before he could help her and they walked toward the elevator together. In less than two minutes they were walking into her apartment and she let out a relieved sigh as she headed back toward her bedroom. He went after her, setting the bag down on her couch as he passed. Not bothered by him following at all she crawled into her bed, kicking her shoes off as she went and snuggling her face into her pillow as she reached around blindly for her comforter, which was balled up haphazardly at the end of the mattress where she must have kicked it the last time she was here. Shaking his head he reached down and put it over her. Sitting on the side of the bed he began to stroke her hair back, enjoying the silky feel of it.

Sarah opened her eyes and caught his hand, tugging at him lightly toward her as her cheeks flushed. "Do you have to leave right away?" She asked shyly. "Lay down with me?"

Deeply pleased by the bashful invitation he tickled at her cheek for a moment before shrugging out of his trench coat and tossing it to the end of the bed, very sure he could stay for awhile. Leaning down he took his own shoes off and then laid down next to her, shifting a little as he did. Once he stilled Sarah surprised him by scooting right up against his side and setting her head on his shoulder. A moment later she draped her arm over his chest, her fingers playing almost nervously with the collar of his shirt. An involuntary hum of contentment escaped him, almost a purr really, and he relaxed all over as the smell of spices and vanilla caught him up and the warmth of her body began to permeate into him. Sarah was still, save for her busy fingers, and he twisted a lock of her hair around his fingers, playing with it absently. "Do you ever feel like we've done this before?" Sarah asked in Egyptian, her voice soft and dreamy.

He put his hand on the back of her head and ran it down to her neck. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly, using all the self control he had to keep his body relaxed as his mind snapped to attention.

"I don't know." She said, snuggling her face against him. "I always had this weird feeling that I'd met you before, or that I knew you somehow. It was so strange the first time I saw you in class." She shook her head a little. "And then that woman, Ishizu, told me this ridiculous story about reincarnation and now it's just stuck in my head." He saw her smile a little ruefully at herself. "It's a pretty thought I suppose, overly romantic, but I kind of like it anyway." He continued to say nothing, only tickled the tips of her fingers down her back, which had her squirming against him in the most marvelous way at the sensation he was provoking. He stored it away for later use. "I know that's silly. I'm sure you don't believe in past lives."

He edged around that with great care. "Do you?"

"No, not really." She told him. "I guess I don't really know what I believe as far as death or an afterlife go, but I never thought there was much of a point worrying about it as I would find out one way or another eventually."

"You are not allowed to find out for a very long time." He told her firmly.

"If you're going to be pushy about it what choice do I have?" She asked, pushing herself up a little so she could gaze down at him. Her blue eyes were twinkling playfully. "And I suppose you could convince me to stick around one way or another."

"Is that so?" He asked, liking the way her thoughts were going. "I did get the feeling things were going well when you mentioned something about how our date was meant to end-" Sarah had grabbed a pillow and hit him with it before he could finish and he laughed as he grabbed it from her.

"Do not get any ideas in that head of yours-" She started with mock outrage.

Tossing the pillow aside he swept his arm over her and twisted, putting her below him on the bed and kissing her deeply. Sarah responded at once and his mind went hazy with lust and affection. He loved how she reacted to him, loved how eager she was, loved how genuinely she felt things. He just loved her. Pulling her tighter against him, thinking of nothing but getting closer to her, he was jolted out of the sensation when she let out a pained yelp. He jerked up at once and she hissed as she pushed him away a little. "I'm sorry, my ribs, it's not your fault."

He pushed himself up at once, taking all of his weight off of her and cursing himself a fool. Sarah shifted, grimacing as she put her arm over her right side. "Sarah?"

"It's really okay." She assured him as she sucked in an uncomfortable breath. "Maybe we could try it with a little less… squeezing?"

Shaking his head he laid back down next to her and carefully pulled her back against him. Leaning his head forward he kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry. That was thoughtless."

Tilting her head up she kissed him warmly, managing to wiggle so she was cradled against his side. "Hey, Seto?"

"Yes?"

"Just kiss me again." She whispered, inclining her head for him. More than happy to comply he leaned in, letting himself get lost in her for a little while.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Postponement**

Seeing that the sun was dipping down toward the horizon through her bedroom window he twisted his neck and kissed the top of Sarah's head gently before sliding out from under her, forcing himself up because he needed to go home. She had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes ago, and he had lingered there in her bed as he fully reassured himself that she was alive and safe. She had relaxed noticeably once she got back here, to her home, but he was worried about leaving her in the apartment alone. If he thought she would have come back to the mansion with him he would have woken her, but she had been so relieved to be home, and always so worried about appearances that he wasn't sure she would budge. He also didn't want to move her if she was going to stay here and rest the way she should, and he knew there was a much better chance of that if she was where she wanted to be. But if someone could get to her in the biggest and most crowded event Domino had hosted in years he was sure someone could work out how to get her out of her bedroom. Her security system would do absolutely nothing to stop a magical assault, and he wasn't sure how to prevent that other than reacting in a way he had sworn he never would.

As he moved her she let out a little sigh and turned her face farther into her pillow, her hand slipping under it in a practiced gesture. Reaching over he made sure she was completely covered with the thick raspberry colored comforter she had on her bed before pulling his shoes back on. He was a bit surprised by the color, he would have guessed she'd go for blue, but it fit with the rest of the simple decor in here. He noticed she had finally hung a picture up on the wall and could only assume Sarah had finally decided that this was where she was going to be long term, because he was sure she wouldn't have put anything up otherwise. Even so the walls still felt a bit empty, but every few weeks there would be something new up, so maybe she was just picky about what she wanted hung. He did notice she was putting paintings of landscapes up more than anything, and wondered what about them appealed to her.

Leaving her room briefly he got her cell phone out of the living room and brought it back, plugging it into her wall charger and setting it on her nightstand within easy reach. The phone let out a soft, muffled beep as it connected to the power source and Sarah slept on, utterly undisturbed. He was sure the painkillers he insisted she take again an hour ago had fully kicked in as she was generally a light sleeper. Sarah had protested a bit, clearly not liking how they made her feel, but she had started shifting uncomfortably so much it was causing his anxiety to ratchet up, especially when small hisses of pain would come out of her despite her best efforts to muffle them. She had given in without much of a fight after he tugged her back to him, shifting to holding her rather than kissing her, which she apparently enjoyed just as much. He had never been snuggled with before and found it very enjoyable. Not that he would admit to that of course. But Sarah was too sweet for her own good really and he didn't have it in him to deny her, or himself. Reaching over he stroked the side of her head once before grabbing his trench coat and pulling it back on. Leaving her room he pulled the door shut quietly and moved back out into her living room.

Stopping in the middle of it he rolled his shoulder and gathered himself together. Even if he had never done this in his current life he could recall easily what to do, having been trained extensively in magic before he took over as high priest in Egypt. Reaching into his coat he pulled out the millennium rod and held it firmly in one hand as he pulled three cards out of his deck with the other. Flaring them out in his hand he focused hard, drawing on the magic that was linked so intimately with the shadow realm. If this other person was going to fight dirty, if he was going to pull both Sarah and Mokuba into the shadow realm and threaten their lives and souls, he wasn't about to play nice. This was personal now, and he was not a kind man on the best of days. His millennium item began to glow, no doubt sensing his intent, and he spoke softly but firmly. "Activate the cards around this apartment." He ordered and a blast of gold light emanated around him. When it dissipated he saw the cards were blank, just as his blue eyes had been a few days before, although the image had returned at some point, likely as soon as he returned Sarah to her body. He also noticed that he felt drained, as if he had just run several miles, and took a deep breath as he stored that information away. Clearly, magic had a price, and it appeared to be his energy. Having seen multiple shadow duels he wasn't surprised by that at all and tucked the blank cards and the millennium item away, sure that the two trap cards and the spell card he had activated would be enough to at least slow down anything that came after her here. It would certainly give him time to do something about whatever it was.

Leaving her apartment he stopped long enough to activate her alarm system and lock the door securely before heading back down to his car. He was home less than fifteen minutes later and walked inside, wanting nothing more than to take a shower and get something to eat. Ignoring Ando as he walked inside he simply headed up to the family wing. No sooner had he turned into the hall than he heard something bang and frowned, moving faster. As he went he heard more noise and was surprised when he realized it was coming from his bedroom. The door was ajar, which was unusual as he always had it shut, and he shoved it open.

It took him several seconds to process what he was seeing. His room, which was always pristinely clean and meticulously organized, as it irritated him beyond reckoning when things were not in order, was completely turned over. His mattress had been dragged off the bed frame, his sheets balled up and tossed in a corner, his clothes thrown everywhere with some still on their hangers, his drawers emptied, and his small personal safe had been dragged out of his walk in closet, opened, and tipped over in the middle of the floor. In the center of the chaos Mokuba was standing near the far wall and ripping a painting off of it, looking behind the frame of it. "What are you doing?" He demanded, outraged.

Mokuba tossed the expensive oil painting away and the corner of the frame hit the floor and splintered badly. Fully ignoring him his brother went to his bedside table and proceeded to yank the top drawer out and flip it over, spilling the contents all over the floor around his feet. Mokuba kicked a small tablet to the side without concern for how delicate it was and dropped the drawer carelessly, grabbing the next one out of the frame and dumping it as well. " _Mokuba!_ " He yelled.

His brother's head whipped around and he was taken aback by the fury he saw in his normally kind grey eyes. This was not a person about to back down about anything. "Where is it, Seto?"

"Where is what? What are you doing?" He demanded as his temper flared at not only the destruction, but the blatant invasion of privacy.

Mokuba hurled the drawer down in rage. "Do _not_ play stupid with me!" His brother snarled, turning on him. "Where's the millennium rod? And what the hell are you doing with it?" He watched Mokuba, saying nothing. At his stony silence Mokuba's ire only increased. "You of all people…" He stopped, seemingly to rein himself back in before he lost all control. "How long have you had it?"

He was silent for a long time. "Since Egypt." He said at last.

"You've had that thing for this long?" Mokuba demanded. "You brought it _here_? You brought that cursed thing with us? What are you thinking?" Mokuba was all out yelling now. "You know how dangerous the millennium items are even to the people using them, especially to the people using them! You saw what it did to Marik! It nearly destroyed him!"

Reaching behind him he slammed the door closed, not needing any of his household staff to overhear this conversation. "Another one of the items was stolen from the temple. Yugi's puzzle is all but useless with the pharaoh dead. What should I have done?" He asked him. "How can I possibly protect you without-"

"The way you protected me three days ago?" Mokuba demanded. "As I recall I protected myself! Those things have rules! You know it as well as I do, so don't pretend otherwise! You don't need an item to stop someone with one! You just need to be able to beat them! You've done it before and never needed that horrible thing!"

"It's not that simple." He stated, because it wasn't and it never had been. "The magic is-"

"Magic?" Mokuba snapped. "You're going to talk to _me_ about magic? As I recall you've made it abundantly clear over and over that magic doesn't exist, despite every evidence to the contrary!" He pressed his lips together in frustration and Mokuba kept on, seeing the opening and taking it as ruthlessly as he ever had. "So what was it?" He demanded. "What shattered your obstinate denial? Because I can name at least two dozen different times that you should have accepted it off the top of my head since Yugi beat you in that first duel, including when we were both trapped in the shadow realm by Pegasus!" He said nothing, silently seething at the well placed attack, but also knowing he deserved it. Mokuba's eyes glinted knowingly. "It was Sarah wasn't it?"

"It's a complicated situation-"

"How long have you known about her?" Mokuba snapped. When he did nothing but stand there his brother raised his voice again, shouting at him in frustrated rage. "How long, Seto?"

"I knew as soon as I saw her." He responded roughly, wondering how he had ended up on the wrong side of this argument. He also knew there would be no lying about this to Mokuba. His brother was going to find out one way or another, and he could always tell when he was being dishonest. He was also sure, given how angry he was, that Mokuba would go to Sarah if he didn't come clean. "I knew the moment she looked at me."

Mokuba stared at him with cold, angry eyes, and it took most of his willpower not to break eye contact. He wasn't used to feeling uncomfortable with anyone, especially his brother. He certainly wasn't used to feeling in the wrong. "She's been possessed by your blue eyes for over a year and you haven't done anything to help her? She's your best friend! What is the _matter_ with you?"

Reaching up he ran his hand through his hair in agitation, seeing at least part of the reason his brother was so angry. He thought he was letting her suffer as so many had before this world was separated from the shadow realm. Clearly, he had been spending far too much time at Motou's game shop if he knew about this. "Mokuba, she-"

"You can't leave her like that because of your obsession with that dragon! She's more important that your blue eyes! Send it back to the shadow realm where it belongs!" Mokuba yelled. "No one deserves to live like-"

"She _is_ the dragon!" He yelled back, overriding him. "There's nothing controlling her, she isn't possessed! It's what she _is_! Sarah is the living embodiment of the blue eyes white dragon! That's why she looks the way she does!"

"That's impossible! Atem locked them all away-"

He was completely over the unreasonable belief everyone seemed to have the Atem was infallible and all powerful. That had never been the case, he had always had help one way or another. If it wasn't Yugi or one of the mindless idiots it had been him in his last life, or one of the five other wielders of the millennium items that helped keep him alive and in power. Oh, Atem had made sacrifices, but so had he, and so had everyone else. He wasn't the only one that had suffered to save this world. He wasn't the only one to lose everything. "She has always been more powerful than the damn pharaoh! She created herself this way to get around his magic!" He shouted. "The only way to get her back to the shadow realm now is to kill her! It's always been the only way! Is that what you want me to do, Mokuba? Murder her?"

"You're lying." Mokuba snapped.

"No." He denied vehemently. "Not about this, not about her."

Mokuba must have seen the truth in that statement, because he saw rapids thoughts flying over his face. "She lied to me?" He asked, his voice dropping to a normal level.

"No, she never lied." He told him, seeing the look of betrayal on his brother's face, seeing the devastation. He didn't want his brother to think that Sarah had kept anything from him, that she had turned on him, or didn't trust him, because that was far from the truth. Sarah loved Mokuba dearly, surely as much as he did. For lifetimes she had been denied a family that loved her, and when she had been offered that chance with him, the silent almost grudging invitation that it was, she had latched onto it at once, clinging to both of them with near reckless abandon. She had risked her life more than once for both of them now, following them into danger without hesitation. He was sure to his bones that she would never lie to Mokuba on purpose. "Sarah doesn't know what she is. She doesn't have any memory of her last life, or her life before she was human. This life is all she knows."

"Her last life?" Mokuba repeated. "She's been a human before?"

"Once." He agreed. "Although I don't know how she managed it either time, she never should have been able to do it, but she's always been clever and better at magic then all of us combined." He shook his head, his eyes straying to the top of his dresser, which he stepped over to. Knocked over on top were the only two pictures he had of anyone. Thankfully, they hadn't been harmed while Mokuba ransacked his room, only fallen to their sides over the smooth wood. One was over a decade old now, and his most cherished possession. Picking it up he set it to rights as a much younger version of himself and a very tiny Mokuba were sitting on either side of a chessboard dressed in ill fitting hand-me-down clothes. It had been one of the few happy memories he had of his childhood, those few brief hours teaching Mokuba to play chess at the orphanage, although really teaching a five year old that game was never going to work out no matter how much fun they had. It was simply too complicated for him.

Next to it in a smaller frame was an image Sarah had snapped with her phone of the three of them several months ago, the night before she moved into her new apartment. She had caught him utterly off guard with it, taking the picture before he knew she had her phone out. They had all been in the family room watching a movie, some foolish thing full of explosions with no plot at all that Mokuba had insisted they watch. He had been lounging back on the couch, tired from his trip and wondering how anyone made money on these things as Mokuba sat eating a vat of popcorn beside him. Sarah had thrown herself down on the couch sideways so she was fully facing the camera and he and Mokuba were facing forward, jamming her back into his shoulder as she did. He had grunted in surprise and looked over just in time to see the flash of her phone going off. He had rolled his eyes indulgently at her as she giggled in delight at sneaking a picture. She had texted him the image the next day after she moved, with a short thank you for letting her stay below it. Despite his general disinterest in being photographed he had taken an immediate shine to the image. It was utterly ridiculous, with him surprised, her at an awkward angle, and Mokuba's mouth full of popcorn, but it was also charming in it's own way, showing a side of his life he shared with few people. He had printed the image off and set it next to the other, thinking, he supposed, that he had never anticipated adding anyone else to their small family.

"And she doesn't remember any of it?" Mokuba asked, watching him staring at the picture, lost in his own thoughts.

He was quiet for a long time. "No, I don't think she does." He told him. "But she might soon. She remembered for awhile at the hospital, but it's gone again, at least I thought it was." He set the picture upright. "But she's started speaking Egyptian again this morning, which she shouldn't know unless she's accessed the old part of herself. She hasn't realized that either, she thinks she's speaking English when she switches over. I'm not sure what did that, if it was the shadow realm, or her soul escaping, or the drugs. It could well be all three that shook it out."

"Egyptian." Mokuba stated, having sussed enough information out of Yugi and the mutt to know he had been reincarnated, although he had point blank refused to ever discuss it. "You knew her before. How?"

Turning away from the images he sent an irritated glance around the room. "You realize I'm going to have to get all my shirts pressed again. I have to go into the office in the morning."

"Seto." Mokuba insisted impatiently.

He sighed tiredly, knowing that was a poor way to avoid the subject. "We were thrown together for a time." He told Mokuba evasively. "My past self thought she was possessed by a monster and wanted to free her, but worked out fairly quickly that she was something else altogether. A few weeks later she was gone."

"That's it? You just happened to meet up?" He asked sarcastically. "There's no way that's the whole story. Try again."

He felt weariness settle over him as he confessed. "Two days before she was murdered we married. No one knew but the two of us and the gods I suppose, not even Atem, although we were close in that life." He refused to say they were friends, and cousins. Perhaps they had been, but he felt more strongly that he had done his duty toward the man that had been his king rather than his friend. Duty had bound him in his last life as much as this one. And no matter what life he found himself in he supposed he had never been overly fond of people in general, keeping to himself when the option was presented. "I performed the ceremony myself in secret. It was reckless of me because we were both in very real danger. I was almost certain I wouldn't survive what was coming, and I had hoped Atem would grant her my household if I died, for all she was a peasant. It would have kept her secure, and given her status she desperately needed to have a good life in that time." He felt the old grief stabbing at him like a knife as Mokuba stared at him with dumbfounded shock as he forced himself to finish the small, sad tale. "But it all went wrong and I let her die. I was foolish and reckless, and she ended up paying for it. I never remarried, although I lived well into my sixties. I couldn't bring myself to let her go." He looked away, back at the picture, forcing the last of it out. "I loved her too much."

"She died? That's how you got the blue eyes?" Mokuba's rage had gone, blown away by the empathy that defined him. Clearly his brother had not been expecting that sort of information at all.

"Yes." He agreed quietly. "She stayed with me, her soul did until I died, even though it meant she would be trapped in the shadow realm or under my direct control when I could call her back."

"Why haven't you told her?" Mokuba asked, exasperated. "If she meant, if she means, that much to you. You obviously feel the same way now."

"She doesn't owe me anything, Mokuba." He said quietly. "She gave me too much already." He felt helpless then, and defeated, and he wasn't used to feeling those things. "I didn't want to burden her. I wanted her to have a life this time, a good one where she could be free and happy. She was barely seventeen when she was killed last time. She died saving me and spent years at my beck and call after that. I won't repay her with an obligation that died when she did."

"I'm not so sure that's true." Mokuba told him. "During the duel that man said you were calling her to you. I don't think you could have done that if she didn't want you to, not really, even if it hurt her."

"Hurt her?" He asked sharply, turning his attention back to his brother.

Mokuba looked haunted. "She kept passing out when we were dueling." He grimaced. "She must have been going to you in the arena I guess. It hurt her."

"Hurt her how?" He asked, not understanding.

"Seto, you were pulling her soul out of her body to get her to you." He stilled all over, having not considered that it would do anything other than have her consciousness leaving her, which left her body exposed, but he never thought it would hurt her in any sort of physical way. "She was screaming." Mokuba shook his head, saying nothing else, but clearly _not_ saying too much. He drew back into himself as disgust rolled through him at having hurt her, no matter if it was unintentional, no matter that he had no idea that she had been in the shadow realm, which allowed him to do that to begin with. After a long moment Mokuba went on, his face filling with guilt. "I didn't know what was wrong with her. I didn't understand what was happening." He said. "Or I never would have played the card. I was trying to save her, but I must have hurt her too."

He was confused. "Played the card?"

Reaching into his pocket he slowly pulled out a monster card. "He was about to win. He knew my deck and he was ready for me." Mokuba said, flicking it nervously so all he could see was the back. "And then she told me to draw before she passed out again." Mokuba held the card up and he sucked in a sharp breath when he saw a blue eyes on it. "I summoned her. I don't know how I got this, it appeared in my deck the same way Critias appeared in yours, and I played it." He had no idea what to think about that. He had always been the only one that was able to summon the blue eyes, but clearly that wasn't true anymore. He was very sure all three cards were in his deck and this was a new one, he had checked while she was in the hospital and his brother was asleep in the chair, watching the cards as he feared they might well go blank again if she died. An unexpected wave of jealousy hit him out of nowhere, and despite all the love he had for his brother, and his very real devotion, he was almost beside himself over what he was seeing. Sarah was his, only his, she always had been, and seeing another duelist with her card was deeply, cuttingly, painful even if it was Mokuba. Still, if what Mokuba said was true she may well have saved both of them by allowing him to summon her, and he knew she had to have allowed it. In the shadow realm she was far too powerful to be summoned without her consent, even by the most powerful magic users, and Mokuba was not born with an inherent predisposition for magic. Mokuba went on as he beat the resentment back, restraining himself from moving forward and taking the card from him. It had been Sarah's choice to allow Mokuba to call her and he couldn't in good conscious take the card and negate her decision. "But it was a trap. I should have seen it. He was waiting for me to summon her."

"How do you know that?" He asked, focusing on that rather than his tumult emotions. "How could he know you would be able to do that?"

"He wasn't interested in dueling me at all until she told me to run. Then he asked her if she'd attached herself to both of us, or something like that. Then he wanted to duel." Mokuba was clearly angry with himself. "And the whole time he was telling her to watch, or trying to get her attention on me. It was a set up. He was provoking her on purpose."

He turned that over, analyzing. Clearly, he had been waiting to get her with the dragon capture jar, but he wasn't convinced that it had been his original plan. Certainly he hadn't intended on Mokuba being there if he was surprised that Sarah would help him. Something wasn't adding up all the way, especially when he took the coffee into consideration. Truly, she never should have had that. Sarah had been right that it was meant for him, there was no explanation other than chance that she drank it. "It's not your fault." He told Mokuba, meaning that sincerely. "It's mine. I should have been more careful with both of you."

His brother shook his head, clearly disagreeing, but changed the subject as he slipped the card back in his pocket. "What are you going to tell her?"

"Nothing." He told his brother.

"Seto!" Mokuba all but growled. "She needs to know!"

"All she needs is to rest." He told his brother, looking about and trying to decide where to start with this mess, or if he should just have the housekeeping deal with it. "She's happy as she is. Leave it alone, Mokuba, promise me."

"You want me to lie to her too?" His brother asked angrily.

"It's not a lie." He told him. "Sarah is still Sarah. Her life here is real. Her relationships with us are real. None of that is a lie."

"It's not the truth either." Mokuba pointed out, crossing his arms stubbornly. "And you know that."

"It's not a blessing or a gift to have memories of your past life, Mokuba." He told him. "It's a painful experience." He knew that well. "I'm trying to make her life easier, not harder."

"And what if she remembers on her own?" Mokuba demanded.

"Then she'll understand why I didn't tell her." He replied, knowing it was true. "If she's going to remember then she will, there's nothing I can do about that, although I would if I could. I won't pretend that I wouldn't keep it from her if I could. I've been trying since she showed up here."

"This is going to blow up in your face, Seto." Mokuba told him flatly. "You're lying to her, flat out to her face. Do you really think any version of her is going to be okay with that? Because I know her right now and I have to tell you it absolutely will not be taken well by even the most optimistic of standards."

"True." He agreed, seeing no way around that if she did discover the truth about herself. Glancing down he decided to take care of the mess himself and picked up a few of his shirts, irritated he was going to have to get someone in here to iron them again. It meant he would not have his own space for at least a few more minutes and he very much needed a break from everything.

As he began to hang them back up Mokuba flailed his arms a little. "And that's just an acceptable outcome for you?"

"Yes." He agreed as he came back out of the closet.

"What kind of relationship is that?" His brother demanded. "Where you go around lying to your girlfriend about fundamental life events?"

He paused with a shirt in his hand. "How did you know we were dating?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. " _Wow._ "

"We were being discrete." He replied, irritated at being caught out when he has specifically been trying to keep this quiet to protect her reputation. Not that he was in any way ashamed of her, he was in fact extremely pleased with himself, but that didn't take away from the reality of what it would look like to the rest of the world.

Mokuba gazed at him as if were some sort of pathetic idiot. "If by being discreet you mean you kept looking at her with big love me eyes and sneaking off with her when she was here, then yeah, okay, you were being discrete."

He was indignant. "I do not have-" He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "-big love me eyes."

"Please." Mokuba huffed. "You've been pining after her since she came to Japan. You do everything together, she's literally the only person you ever want to be near other than me, she makes you laugh, you actually do what she tells you to, you keep touching her whenever you can like no one else notices, you had a total aneurysm at the hospital and when Pegasus got her, and I definitely walked past the library the other day when you were both in there and you left the door open, so thanks for that mentally scarring image. I'll need therapy for that for sure." He actually felt his composure break at that, utterly derailed, because he remembered very well what they had done in the library and that wasn't something anyone else was meant to see. Not that Mokuba could have seen anything fully inappropriate, but at one point Sarah had certainly had both her legs wrapped around his waist as he used the wall to hold her up so he could press up against her as he kissed her senseless.

If Mokuba had seen that he probably couldn't lie about it at this point. How irksome. "Fine, she's my girlfriend."

"Don't sound so pleased." Mokuba deadpanned. He rolled his eyes and went back to picking his shirts up. "When this all explodes I will one hundred percent tell you I told you so."

"I've been warned." He agreed without worry.

When he came back out of his closet again he saw Mokuba had put the mattress back on the bed and was sitting on it, clearly thinking. "So now what?" He asked, fully unapologetic of the mess he had made. "Whoever that was he's going to come back."

"I think you ruined whatever plan he originally had." He told his brother, going to the drawers of his dresser and pushing them back in, pleased that they were once again on the same side. "He must have thought she would be on her own, or that eventually I would get there." He glanced over at him. "You did well against him. I know how hard shadow duels are. Most people would have died before it was over." Mokuba raised an eyebrow at the praise, as he wasn't one to dole it out often. "But don't do that again." He finished.

Mokuba made no such commitment to reassure him. "Fine, I ruined his plan, but what now?"

He considered that seriously, having been turning over that very question for days now. "I need to draw him out. If I don't he'll plan something else and he'll make fewer mistakes. It was close last time, dangerously so. I can't let him have that advantage again."

Mokuba appeared to agree. "He didn't know you had a millennium item." He told him. "He kept saying that you used to have magic. He was convinced you didn't anymore. He'll know now though." He shook his head. "I don't like you having that, Seto. What if it does to you what it did to Marik? It nearly killed him."

"Marik never should have touched it." He replied. "He wasn't meant to use it, it was made for my past self specifically. I'm not saying it isn't dangerous, but it won't react to me that way."

His brother looked less than convinced, but for the moment let it go. "It isn't just the three of us he's after." Mokuba pointed out. "Otherwise not everyone would have been kidnapped and brought to Egypt, it would have just been us, assuming he was the one that did that."

"I'm sure he was." He said, sensing Mokuba had a solution. "What are you thinking?"

"If you want to draw him out you'll have to make it worth the risk. He's clearly patient as it's been months since that happened." Mokuba said. "Give him a target rich environment. Maybe one or three of us aren't enough, but if all of us he wanted are potentially in the same place at the same time he might risk it." He shook his head, his shaggy hair swaying. "I can't believe I said that. It would put everyone in danger."

"They already are in danger." He pointed out, thinking Mokuba was very right about that. "But it's a good idea. How convenient that we're about to roll out the new duel disk system."

"A tournament." Mokuba said, knowing what he was thinking and nodding in agreement. "It's a good plan. It would get everyone here either participating or cheering the duelist's on. To everyone else it would look like the next step in a logical marketing campaign before a worldwide release. I'm sure we could work it out as an international ranking tournament without any trouble. It would bring in the best of the best. I don't think it would take much to sway the mayor to allow Domino to host again either. The city made a ton of money during duelist kingdom with all the visitors and publicity."

As much as he wanted this taken care of as soon as possible he knew he needed to do it properly. He would need to bide his time and be patient. "It's going to take some time to organize and have enough of the new duel disks ready for a large tournament." He made some quick calculations. "Let's say six weeks from now, maybe eight. We need to make it look natural, not rushed, like this was always the next part of the release. We'll need a good pitch for it prior, and enough time for duelists to enter and make arrangements to get here. I also want to be sure we can broadcast duels live, which is tricky to orchestrate, but it'll make it a better experience for the audience. Getting the up to date information from the duel disks was good before, but seeing the duelists in action is exponentially better. It makes it more visceral for the audience."

"How many duelists do you think?" Mokuba asked. "It'll be hard to cut down with so many newcomers on the scene, and we have no idea how experienced this guy is in normal dueling circles. He really could be anyone. We need to be sure he can enter."

He considered that seriously. "We can personally invite the top fifty in the world." He reasoned. "And allow fifty more open spots for others. I'll figure out the entry criteria for them tomorrow. We'll need a system of some sort."

"I want to be the one running it if you're entering, which I know you are. You'll need to be focused on dueling, not anything else."

He flicked his fingers, thinking that was a given. "Of course."

Mokuba tapped his foot, still thinking. "And we need to warn Yugi at the very least." He opened his mouth and his brother raised his hand to stop him. "He needs to know the man will be there. If you don't want to mention we've already encountered him that's fine, but he needs to know."

"Very well." He agreed grudgingly. "Do what you want. I suppose at least Motou can keep his mouth shut when he needs to."

"Right." Mokuba replied, not bothering to argue him where Yugi was concerned. "I'll get started after school tomorrow." He told him, standing up. "We'll need to decide on rules and what system we're going to use to knock people out of the tournament. It can't be the same as last time or it'll be boring. Can I steal your marketing team in the evening?"

He raised an eyebrow with interest as Mokuba simply stepped into this full force, asking for permission, but expecting to be told yes. He was acting the way he would expect from a vice president, and he approved. "You know who they are. Do what you need to do. I'll approve any overtime you need."

"Good." Mokuba agreed, heading toward the door. "So I take it Sarah is home?"

"She is. She's sleeping." He told him.

"Is she alright?"

He certainly didn't think so. "She's still having some trouble with her memory, and two of her ribs are broken, but she seemed stable when I left."

Mokuba's face went stormy again. "Will hurting her get her to-" He searched for the right word. "-transform?"

"Not necessarily." He told him. "Although I'm sure it has in the past. She used to be able to do it at will. She's not as skilled as she used to be."

His brother turned that over. "She wanted to kill me in the shadow realm."

He flinched at that. "She didn't recognize you, or me for that matter, when she was the dragon. She's never been overly compliant with people." He thought that was a massive understatement.

"Then why did she listen to you?" He asked. "If she didn't remember you why would she?"

"She saw my magic." He told him. "And then I used it to get her under control." He regretted he'd had to resort to that, but there was little else for him to do. He couldn't let her kill them.

"Lights." Mokuba muttered quietly under his breath as comprehension lit through him.

"What?"

His brother shook his head hard. "She said in Egypt she kept seeing lights when we were with the Ishtar's." He frowned, not understanding. "And that she saw lights on you and Yugi, and then the night the alarm went off." His brother met his eyes. "Can she see magic all the time?"

He frowned in irritation at Sarah going to Mokuba about that instead of him. "I don't know. She never mentioned that to me."

"I think it's a bit hypocritical of you to be annoyed about that when you haven't mentioned to her any of the things you should be mentioning." Mokuba pointed out dryly. "And you aren't exactly the most open minded person about weird things. She told me she thought you would think she was crazy, and to be fair she thought she was going crazy too. I've never seen her nervous like that." Mokuba shrugged. "But I'd be nervous too if the shadow realm kept trying to yank me back into it."

" _What?_ " He demanded a second time.

"She told me the shadows were trying to take her somewhere." Mokuba informed him. "That's all she said, so if you want more information you're going to have to ask her about it. I refuse to be a go between in this stupid scheme you have in your head about her." Mokuba was clearly very put off by that. "And I won't tell her outright about any of this, but if she asks me I'm not going to lie to her about it. That's not right. It's not right that I'm not telling her in the first place."

He knew he wouldn't get much more than that from Mokuba, who was too innocent and trustworthy for his own good, but he would take it. And at least he had warned him about it. "Fine." He agreed.

Shaking his head Mokuba opened the door and walked out, heading to his own room and shutting himself in. Closing his own door he stood there, contemplating what he had learned as a different part of his mind started to quickly and efficiently create new dueling rules for the tournament. He would let Mokuba deal with what to call it if he was set on organizing it himself. It was one less thing he needed to take care of, and it would allow him more time to plot his own attack. While he certainly wasn't one to sit back and allow what he loved to be harmed and threatened he did understand the value of a well thought out and strategic counter attack. And unlike his opponent he wasn't about to have his plan spoiled. Once he sprung it there would be no escape and no mercy. He would destroy this man and all the danger he represented. So, steeling himself to be as ruthless as Gozaburo had taught him to be, he began to put his things away, thinking it would be in everyone's best interest if he went back to Sarah's before she woke up to remove the spells he had set up to protect her. If she could see magic he had no doubt they would frighten her if she woke up before he got there and removed them. Clearly, she was just going to have to stay here for a few days until he was sure she was stable enough to protect herself. But, after this was all said and done she would be safe. He would need to make sure of it. This time there would be no mistakes, no reckless idiocy, no failure. He couldn't allow it. He wouldn't let her die again.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Merger**

Six weeks after she got out of the hospital she was pleased to say she had fully recovered. Despite her injuries, and broken ribs were really irritating, she had healed easily and without much fuss. Thankfully, her language skills had come back in only a few days, well before the doctor had recommended she go back to work, and she was beyond grateful as that had scared her much more than a few broken bones and the horrible headache she'd had. Her doctor had been impressed with how quickly she healed all around, and even more so by how fast her bones knit back together. But she had always recovered more swiftly than other people, or so it seemed. Maybe it was just that she had been hurt so much in the past that her body was used to it, and had been waiting to fix something major for the last seventeen months or so. Despite that Seto had been treating her like she was made of glass, which was sweet, but driving her crazy as all she wanted most of the time was for him to grab her about the waist and do unspeakable things to her.

Two days ago she had finally lost all patience, she could only handle him ghosting his hands over her so long before she went completely insane, because seriously that was torturous. She had pushed him down on his back over her couch rather roughly, crawled over him, and all but demanded he stop keeping his hands to himself in a move so forward she couldn't believe she had managed it. He had been fully surprised to find himself under her as she berated him for not being less gentle for about five seconds. Then his navy eyes had glinted with undeniable want and he grabbed her, pulling her down over him and into a searing kiss that had quickly devolved into a hot and barely restrained tangle of limbs and loose clothing when she made it very apparent that he was not going to hurt her. Even now she wasn't entirely certain what had them stopping just short of what she had been aiming for, which was her bedroom, and felt half cheated over the thing no matter how good he made her feel as it was barely shy of what she felt was waiting on the horizon. She could only hang on the edge with him like this for so long before she died she was sure.

Still, things had been going wonderfully well. So well in fact she generally felt as if none of it was actually real. Never once had she anticipated being with anyone that complimented her so perfectly in seemingly every way. That wasn't to say he didn't drive her to distraction, because he had to be the most stubborn and blunt person she had ever met, but it simply seemed a natural part of their relationship. She really thought she wouldn't be able to make it with someone that didn't present some sort of challenge to her, and he certainly managed that at every available opportunity. She was actually positive he goaded her on purpose half the time because he enjoyed her reactions, but that was fun in it's own way as well, and to be perfectly fair she enjoyed pushing his buttons too.

Still, things had been going wonderfully well. So well in fact she generally felt as if none of it was actually real. Never once had she anticipated being with anyone that complimented her so perfectly in seemingly every way. That wasn't to say he didn't drive her to distraction, because he had to be the most stubborn and blunt person she had ever met, but it simply seemed a natural part of their relationship. She really thought she wouldn't be able to make it with someone that didn't present some sort of challenge to her, and he certainly managed that at every available opportunity. She was actually positive he goaded her on purpose half the time because he enjoyed her reactions, but that was fun in it's own way as well, and to be perfectly fair she enjoyed pushing his buttons too.

Really, the only thing she had to complain about was the lack of time they'd had the last few weeks. This tournament he and Mokuba were so dead set on having had taken over her life recently. Now, not only was she doing her day to day tasks at work, and additional things for Seto for the tournament, but Mokuba had conscripted her onto his team as well. She had quickly discovered, that while he had a totally different managerial style than Seto did, he was just as demanding of perfection. And not that she didn't want to help the younger Kaiba in every way she could, and was throwing out all the stops to do so, but there was one clear difference between them. Seto had experience, and while he was absolute in his expectations and demands he had never given her more than she could reasonably do in a set amount of time, even when he had her working on giant projects. Mokuba clearly had no idea what went into her job, or the time some of the things he wanted done needed if she was going to do them properly, and she had quickly become overwhelmed for the first time since she started working at Kaiba Corp.

After the fifth day of being on Mokuba's team she lost all track of time as the frantic pace he set for her cinched tightly around her neck like a noose, and she suddenly had a dozen deadlines looming that she'd had no time to properly manage as he simply dumped them on her out of nowhere. Unlike the other people on his team she didn't have anyone else in her department, and everything he wanted translated fell on her. As she was making corrections to a flyer that had been given to her, meant to be sent out the next day to advertising for final mock ups, her cell phone rang as she sat in her office. Glancing up she began looking around for it, and eventually dug it out from under a pile of papers on the fourth ring. Hitting the call button right before it went to voicemail she answered distractedly, bothered by the interruption as she didn't have time for one. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" Seto asked sharply, as if she was about to die or something.

"The office." She told him, wondering why he was asking.

"You're still there?" He asked, confused.

"I mean obviously. It's only-" She replied, looking down at her watch. "-eight." She sighed deeply, kissing any chance of sleep goodbye for the day as she still had nine more hours of work to do today easily. Not that she had been overly successful resting recently. She had been having the weirdest dreams, most of which she couldn't remember, but she kept waking up terrified of she didn't know what. She found the whole thing even weirder as she had never been prone to nightmares, even at the worst times of her childhood. "How is it already eight?" She asked more to herself than to him. "Look, I'm going to have to call you back, I'm kind of in the middle of-"

"We were supposed to have dinner together at my house an hour ago." He interrupted, now irritated.

"What?" She was sure that couldn't be right. "No, you said Thursday-"

"It is Thursday." He told her. "What are you even doing? You've been at the office since at least six this morning when I got there. It shouldn't have taken you that long to finish translating the new rule book."

"I finished that already." She told him. "I e-mailed you all the different versions. Please tell me they didn't get lost in cyberspace."

"Sarah, things don't just vanish into the darkness of the universe after you send them out of your inbox." He told her sarcastically. "It's not magic."

"Oh my gosh, I don't have time for a lecture on technology, and don't tell me it isn't magic, because surely it is. There's no other explanation as to how I am able to see so many cute videos of cats."

She could sense him rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Then why are you still there?"

"I still have things to do." She informed him, wondering what else he thought would keep her there. Sure, she liked her job, but not enough to just hang out at Kaiba Corp for days on end, especially when she could be spending time with him.

"All you had to do was the translations for the rules."

"Yeah, for you." She told him. "Mokuba has this whole other set of things going on."

There was a brief pause. "You're on Mokuba's planning team?"

"I mean, that's what he told me. I thought that meant you knew about it." She agreed as she pulled the flier back to her. "I'm sorry I missed dinner. I thought today was Wednesday. Could we try again tomorrow? I can set an alarm on my phone so I don't forget."

"How long have you been at Kaiba Corp?"

"Erm, since four-ish?" She replied, thinking that was about right.

"Since four this morning." He repeated. "And what time did you leave yesterday?"

She sensed this was going poorly for some reason and didn't want to tell him. "I feel like you're about to yell at me for getting my work done."

"I'm not going to yell at you." He told her calmly. "But I am going to tell you, strictly as your boss, to pack all of your things up and leave."

"But I'm not done-"

"Sarah, you are done for the day. I don't want you back at the office until nine tomorrow morning at the earliest. You need a break. You can do that here with me or go home, but you are leaving."

A whine of frustration left her, hating leaving things undone. "What am I supposed to tell Mokuba? He needs this finished."

"I'll talk to Mokuba." He assured her. "Now come over here and eat."

She let out a little breath, torn between very much wanting to leave and the very real understanding that this wasn't going to get done if she left. "Seto, if I stop now this really isn't going to get done in time for your tournament. And looking at all of it I see why Mokuba needs it done, but I don't have anyone else to help me with it. So…" She looked around her desk a little helplessly at the small mountain of projects. "I guess I don't know what to cut out if I leave, and I really think I need to finish what I can tonight."

He must have heard the underlying panic in her voice, because instead of insisting she do what he said he went in a completely unexpected direction. "Fine."

"Really?" She asked, relieved he was going to argue with her about it.

"Yes, really." He agreed.

"Okay." She felt a little better, but still guilty about not meeting him. "I really am sorry I forgot about dinner." Other than spending time together as they usually did, he had taken her out multiple times now, somehow scrounging the time up from somewhere, and all of their dates had been fun. While on some level she had always known he didn't get out much it had never occurred to her how much time he spent working or by himself until they started going places together. While he certainly knew his way around the city, he clearly never stopped anywhere when he was headed to whatever destination he had, where she was prone to wander about taking everything in. After their first date, which she had to admit he had planned rather beautifully by taking her to a sushi restaurant and then down to the beach to walk around afterwards, she had taken over, which seemed to intrigue him entirely.

Knowing him well enough to guess what he might like she had first taken him to one of the six museums in the city that had a touring display on the history of technology going through, including an exact replica of the very first Turing machine. That had fascinated him and she had been fully amused by how long he stood in front of it, his eyes flicking along the machine as he worked out exactly how it had been put together, although he had to have already known. Still, seeing something and reading about it were two different things and they had lingered in the museum for hours as the items on display had taken up all of his attention. She was sure he had gotten more out of that than she had, as he understood how it all worked, but it had been a fun experience for her as well. On their third date she had managed to tempt him fully out of his comfort zone, and mostly healed up at that point, and sick of being forced to sit about and do nothing, she had rented them some time at a local facility with a rock climbing wall. He had clearly not been expecting anything like that and she had merrily handed him a bag full of workout clothes Mokuba had given to her for him when she asked earlier in the day. Seeing the challenge in her eyes he had raised an eyebrow and silently accepted, going to the men's locker room to change. Never one to back down, and being a fast learner, he had quickly gotten into it and put her through her paces as they played about on the course.

So needless to say she had actually really been looking forward to spending a quiet evening at the mansion with him. "It's alright, Sarah." He assured her. "I'll see you soon." She had wished him a farewell and gone back to work. Twenty minutes later and there was an impatient tap on her door and she looked over, shocked that anyone else was here. Seto was standing there with a bag in one hand and a confused looking Mokuba on his right. She sent them a questioning look, not understanding why they were here, as he stepped in and set the bag on her window sill, grabbed the back of her chair, and rolled her in front of it. "You eat." He instructed firmly. Then he turned to his brother. "Sarah has been here for almost seventeen hours now and is fully planning on staying for at least the foreseeable future." He told him, not unkindly, only in a factual sort of way. "Yesterday she was here for at least eighteen, and I can only guess how long she was here the day before that."

Mokuba frowned. "Why?"

"Because you've given her too much to do." Seto told him patiently, and she realized all at once she was being used as a learning tool. Figuring she was a better person to do that with than anyone, as she wasn't about to get mad about it and honestly wanted Mokuba to succeed, she opened the bag to see what she had been brought, delighted to have food she hadn't been expecting. "The rest of your team can delegate work, Sarah can't. You also didn't tell me you were working with her, so I was giving her more." Mokuba immediately looked chagrined. "So, we have two weeks, and most of what you need from her is devoted to marketing, which needs to get done within the next seven to twelve days. Sarah can't do all of it no matter how much she wants to, and even if she works straight through, which is physically impossible. We also no longer have time to hire another translator to help. What's your solution?"

Mokuba blinked at the calm but pointed question. The next twenty minutes he and Seto took over her office as she was pressed into a corner eating a delicious noodle dish as they prioritized projects together. She watched quietly as Seto first walked Mokuba through it, and then pulled back almost completely to allow his brother to solve this problem himself. Thinking Seto was a much better teacher than he thought he was she kept her peace as her workload was drastically reduced to being only slightly enormous rather than impossible. Thankfully, the next day when she got back Seto actually swept in with her to help her as well, managing most of the English translations she needed to get done before the lab called him, which really helped her out.

Now, with only a week until the tournament started, and the marketing and advertising portions completed, her work days had dwindled back to normal, although Seto and Mokuba would be getting exponentially busier in the next two days. Taking full advantage while she could get him out of the office for even a few hours she had suggested they spend some time together on Saturday, secretly wanting to spend at least part of the day with someone she cared about on her real birthday. Of course Seto knew when it was, as he had found out along the way, but she also knew she couldn't mention it and was sure he had likely forgotten the exact date. And while it might be silly, a part of her wanted to celebrate turning eighteen even if all they did was sit on the couch and watch a movie without acknowledging it. She couldn't actually remember a time she had a good birthday, although she was sure when she was very young she had as her mother had been a very loving individual. Still, all the one's she could remember had been rather awful, and last year she had spent it on her own in her empty apartment with almost no food. Admittedly at that point she had been grateful she hadn't been with her uncle, but it was still fairly pathetic. When she had asked Seto about it he had been on his way back to his lab to work on something and had told her distractedly to pick whatever she wanted to do and he would be sure they would. She had quickly settled on a moderately sized cultural festival Domino was hosting. There were several local bands playing, and she hadn't been to any sort of concert in awhile. She was almost certain he had never been to a live performance at all and figured they would both enjoy it. Seto had agreed without issue and they had decided to meet there as it was only five blocks from her apartment.

It was such a nice evening outside she had walked over about ten minutes early, intent on enjoying the early summer weather. Having recently been to Mia's store she was dressed in a new line she had gotten from a designer the other woman was trying out. She was totally into the clothes, which were really exactly what she liked to wear, and Mia had made a note on them in her log book, obviously interested in ordering some more things from them after seeing how pleased she was with them. Having never really gotten into the short skirt scene that went on here she was in a pair of sky blue shorts and a loose, flowing tank top that had thicker straps resting on her shoulders. The top was a sort of mustard yellow that was muted down with beautiful, brightly colored swallows patterned all over it. She was also in a new pair of blue flats, as the ones she'd had on during Seto's duel had mysteriously vanished somewhere. Assuming she would never see them again she went ahead and bought some more.

Looking down the walkway of the park where the festival started, which was full of happy, carefree people, she sent Seto a short text telling him she was under the large tree at the south entrance and slipped the phone back in her purse. No sooner did she do so then a shadow fell over her and she glanced up into a pair of emerald green eyes and a truly charming smile. "Hello, beautiful."

Wondering at his horrible timing she sent Duke a disgruntled glare, wondering how to get rid of him as quickly as possible. She was still irritated with him over the entire dinner fiasco and wanted him far away before Seto arrived, or really, just far away. "I might be flattered if I wasn't sure you said that to every woman you passed on the way over here." She replied dryly.

The man chuckled and she had to admit the playboy acted his part wonderfully. Dressed in his signature black shirt and dark washed jeans his inky hair and grass green eyes were set off very well indeed. It hardly helped that Duke knew he was a handsome man. He embraced his looks with relish and was fully aware of how to best wield them on the opposite sex. "I only mean it when I say it to you."

"Oh I'm sure." She replied sarcastically. "You've got to work on the pick up lines." She advised him. "Or select a more naive target."

He chuckled, not at all bothered that she was calling him out. "But you're so much more fun. It gets boring, having women fall over you."

"You have no shame at all." She told him.

"None." He agreed with a grin. "What brings you here, pretty thing?"

She made a bored sort of motion behind her at the tents, people, and bands setting up. "I would think that was obvious."

"You don't really strike me as a festival type." He remarked.

"Because you know me so well." She replied. "Do you really see this conversation going somewhere?" She asked with exasperation. "Because when you did trick me into going on a date it didn't exactly go well."

"It didn't exactly go horribly wrong either." He replied.

"What exactly is your definition of a date going wrong if you felt that was even marginally successful?" She asked, hating that she was actually curious about that. It had to be a train wreck of a story.

"Oh, I have examples." He assured her with amusement and she wasn't at all surprised he had more than one after interacting with him for more than an hour. "Why don't we discuss it over some cotton candy?"

"Um, pass." She replied.

"Watching that figure?" He teased, running his eyes over her approvingly. "You don't need to."

"I'm simply trying to get rid of you." She quipped back, not sure how to be less straight forward about not being interested. "And shouldn't you be here with that cute little red head you're always fawning over? Joey's sister?"

"You mean Serenity? Poor dear thinks she's in love with Tristan."

Poor dear indeed. Tristan wasn't what she would call stable or reliable. "Ah." She said in response.

"She's young." He told her, and she had to admit at least he was upfront about being a little sleazy. "She needs some time to figure out he's going nowhere fast."

"A nice thing to say about a friend." She agreed. "How about one of the any number of other women you reportedly flounce about town with?"

"Reportedly?" He asked curiously.

"Duke, you're exploits are documented in great detail by all the local society reporters. I'm fairly certain I read an article about you drunkenly swimming in a fountain with two lady friends just last month." That was just… beyond ridiculous. "You couldn't find a pool?"

He grinned wider. "You read about me?"

"If by that you mean I read the local paper, then yes." She agreed, although honestly she was a bit paranoid one of those very reporters had seen her and Seto running around town together. Not that she was ashamed, but she knew it was going to cause waves at work and just wanted to be prepared when that inevitably happened.

"I don't see anything wrong with spending time with someone, or a few someones, that enjoy my company. I'm not seeing anyone seriously, why shouldn't I have some fun?"

"What could be wrong with trespassing and obvious drunken behavior?" She asked sarcastically, thinking that maybe for some people it wasn't an issue, but for her it certainly was.

"I think you're missing the point." He stated.

Her lips curled up. "Free love, or supporting the local economy with bail?"

He chuckled. "Nothing is free, and I'm not cheap."

"I mean, you took me to a greasy burger joint, but right, you're not cheap."

He waved his hand. "I was trying to remind you of home, make you comfortable."

She liked a good cheeseburger as much as anyone, but that had so not been what happened. "Yeah, not buying that."

He shrugged that off, continuing to pursue her when she obviously did not want to be pursued. "You don't really want to be here exploring this lovely event all on your own do you?" He wheedled. "I'm such good company."

"Believe it or not I do all sorts of things all on my own, and I'm not convinced your company is what I would term good." She told him. "So I'm fine here, alone, without you."

Duke leaned into the tree beside them, his smile growing, and she realized he was liking her refusals too much. "But think of how much better it could be with me." He replied flirtatiously. "A picturesque night, a handsome man on your arm, an ice cream cone, a little music, and then back to my place." He smiled as she wrinkled her nose up in disgust. "A perfect sort of date-"

"Devlin." Seto said coldly, his voice full of deadly warning as he was suddenly right behind him. The other man flailed in surprise, and turned, his shoulders going stiff. It was clear Kaiba had heard him invite her home and was in no way pleased. His navy eyes were shimmering with anger and it was clear he was about to grab Duke and hurl him into the nearest trash bin. Considering how irritating Duke was she was pretty amused by how well Seto had disconcerted him, no matter how mean spirited that might be.

"Kaiba." He returned easily, regaining his composure and flicking some hair out of his face casually. "I didn't think you left the office."

Seto narrowed his eyes at the other man, not moved by the attempt to taunt him. "Maybe if you spent more time in yours you wouldn't be running around begging for funding to keep yourself in business." He replied icily.

Duke was flustered. "Your company seemed more than happy to invest in Dungeon Duel Monsters as I recall."

"Funny." Seto remarked. "I seem to have forgotten exactly why that is. I'll be sure to look into it once my tournament is over."

Shaking her head she stepped over to Seto before he could ruin Duke's life, as that seemed a bit much for a few minutes of being bothersome. "Hi." She said, drawing his attention back to her. She smiled at him in greeting, happy to see him. "The first concert starts in ten minutes. I really want to see this band. Their first album was great."

Duke frowned, glancing between them quickly. "Wait, you're here with him?" She sent him a bemused glance and he was fully put off.

" _Goodbye_ , Devlin." Seto said, his voice clipped as he sent him a look that clearly told him to back off. Before she could say or do anything else Seto put his hand on the small of her back and turned her away from the other man, putting space between them. She went with him willingly, sending Duke an amused glance over her shoulder. He rolled his eyes, seeing he had been defeated, and sauntered off as the crowd swallowed them up. As they moved into the festival Seto's shoulders remained stiff and she thought he had really taken that too seriously.

Going up on her toes she kissed his cheek, which had him glancing down at her. "Duke would hit on anything that breathes." She told him. "He's not my type."

Seto relax minutely, but watched her out of the corner of his eye. "A successful, handsome man that flirts with shamelessly isn't your type?"

She took him in, mystified to realize he was jealous he hadn't found her waiting alone for him, no matter if Duke had found her purely by chance. That Seto would be jealous of anyone was mind boggling. Figuring he wasn't used to that at all, and likely needed some reassurance, she smoothed the whole incident over at once. "Well, when you put it that way maybe he's exactly my type, but I much prefer blue eyes to green." He hummed, but she saw he relaxed all over and she tugged him farther to the left, hearing familiar music and working out the band was warming up. "Thanks for coming with me. I know you're crazy busy right now."

"I always have time for you." He told her with such straightforward sincerity it nearly broke her heart, especially knowing he had been at Kaiba Corp all day. Really, he had to be tired. She smiled at him as they got to the top of a small rise and spotted the troop in a tiny amphitheater carved into the ground. Seeing it was going to get busy, and figuring he wouldn't want to be surrounded by strangers she quickly picked a spot that was out of the way under another large tree. It wouldn't afford them the best view, but she was here to listen to the music anyway, so it hardly mattered.

Seto glanced about with interest as they stood there, taking everything in. She noted that he was dressed much more casually than normal, forgoing a button up shirt and his trench coat. Instead, he was in a plain blue t-shirt and pants, with a light jacket on over it. He looked very much like any other person here and she leaned back into him, tilting her head up so she could smile at him. "You look nice. Are you going incognito today?"

He raised an eyebrow as he slipped his arms around her waist and held her back to his front. "I didn't want anyone to bother us." He told her, his fingers brushing over her stomach casually. "Are you sure this is all you wanted to do today?"

"I like concerts." She told him. "Did you want to leave? I know I've been picking for us. We could go somewhere else if you want."

"This is fine." He assured her, glancing up at the small crowd gathering in front of them, who weren't paying attention to them at all, which was very much to her liking. "I know you like music. I just thought you might want to do something more involved."

Amused, she leaned back into him a little more and he shifted so his back was against the tree and he could hold her up more easily. "Like rock climbing?"

His lip twitched. "That was entertaining." He admitted.

"Good." She replied, relaxing fully. The band started about five minutes later and they stood there listening for about an hour. She was fully entertained, humming under her breath and rocking slightly with the music. She couldn't really tell if Seto liked the songs, but he listened quietly without complaint, holding her against him while they played and taking the scene in as they stood at the back of the crowd. As they were on their last song he shifted a bit and she rocked forward, figuring she was getting heavy. A moment later and she felt his fingers brush her shoulders and then a slight weight on the back of her neck. Jumping a little as a spark of cold hit her collarbones she glanced down and saw a necklace had been placed around her neck. As she blinked at it he pulled her back to him and she reached up to the pendant that was hanging around her neck. A beautifully shaded sapphire was attached to the chain and she sucked in a breath of surprise at the sight. She had never owned any sort of jewelry that was worth anything at all, and this was clearly a well crafted and expensive piece. There was no doubt in her mind that this was a real sapphire, or that the chain was either silver or platinum, although she didn't have the skill to tell.

She gazed up at him with it sitting in her palm and she was sure she looked at dumbfounded as she was. "Seto, this is too much-"

Leaning down he kissed her softly. "Hush." He told her when he broke away, his voice pitched low. "Happy birthday. You get presents on your birthday." That caught her off guard and it must have shown. "I have a eidetic memory." He told her, amused she thought he had forgotten. The band finished playing as he ticked at her cheek, clearly unbothered by how expensive the gift must be, and changed the subject easily. "Is there another band or do you want to go get dinner?" He asked.

She gazed up at him for several long moments, the pendant still in her hand. Honestly, she had been planning on going to the other side of the park to hear another band, and then have them walk a few blocks over to a little cafe that had opened a few weeks ago she had been meaning to try. But… she let the pendant drop around her neck and went up on her toes, reaching up and pulling his face down to hers. She kissed him deeply and he let out a little sound in the back of his throat, surprised by the public display of affection when she was generally very uncomfortable with that. After several moments she pulled back, making up her mind all at once, and not because of the present, which was no doubt worth a small fortune, but because he had remembered it was her birthday for no other reason than he cared. Seto seemed to feel the sudden shift in the air, or perhaps he was simply seeing the want in her eyes, because his entire body went oddly rigid as he held her against him, now completely oblivious to what was going on around them. Dipping his head down he kissed her again and a shiver of want tore down her body. "Let me take you home." He whispered into her ear. "I want you." He kissed her lips again hotly. "I want to be with you."

"What about Mokuba?" She asked breathlessly.

"He's staying with a friend tonight." He told her. "Some sort of gaming party."

It was a miracle. "Can we leave now?" She asked raggedly, her lust running amok.

He kissed her hard and pushed them off the tree, taking her hand in his and leading her out of the crowded park. She followed him and he squeezed her hand reassuringly as they got to a side street and she spotted his car. He unlocked it with his key fob and held the passenger door open for her as they came up next to it. Getting inside she fidgeted restlessly as he went to the other side, wanting nothing more than to rip his clothes off and have him even as nervous tingles ran up her spine. Going around the car he got in and then they were off. When they were out on the road he caught her hand in his and lifted it to his lips in yet another surprising show of affection. That only had her more excited and she met his eyes for a moment. The lust in them must have been as noticeable as in his because he went fast, blatantly breaking the speed limit in the short distance between the park and her apartment's garage. They got to her home in record time, which was probably for the best as she had started playing with his hair, which was causing him to swerve dangerously on the road more than once.

He parked next to her car and they both got out quickly. She wasn't entirely sure how they made it up to her apartment, because they were pawing at each other from the time they were on the elevator to when they practically fell through her door after she somehow managed to unlock it. As soon as they were in he slammed the door shut behind them and locked it firmly before pressing her up against the nearest clear wall. Completely losing what little control she had left she began to shove his jacket off of his shoulders with fumbling, unsure hands. Seto appeared to feel the same way because any semblance of control he'd had before when they were together like this was gone. The way he was touching her now felt very different from all the other times, for all they had already done. His fingers tangled in her hair and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they locked themselves together. He bent into her, increasing the contact as much as he could and she could only approve. Lust blasted through her and she made a low sound of want against his lips, which triggered him entirely. His hand ran down until he was cupping her bottom and then he lifted her up slightly, taking a half step forward. Able to hold her in place his hand began to roam over her in long, hot strokes and she quivered, her nerve endings sparking like mad.

Unable to keep her hands idle she began to touch him too, feeling him over his clothes and once again finding herself more than satisfied with him. As she rubbed up against him as best she could pinned against the wall she felt him get hard and thought she might faint as her lust somehow went higher. Even so, she knew she needed to at least tell him something before this went any further, even if she was fairly certain he already knew. As he broke away for half a moment to breathe she squeezed his shoulders. "Seto." She panted. He hummed in response and kissed her again, tilting her head back to make it easier. She nearly lost herself again, and honestly wanted to lose herself, but this seemed important. Pulling back slightly she held onto him, meeting his eyes and flushing badly. "Seto, I've never-"

He kissed her again before speaking. "I haven't either." He rumbled, and somehow knowing they were talking about the same thing she accepted it and went back to kissing him, feeling better that she wasn't alone in all of this. They stayed like that for another few minutes, lost in one another, before he scooped her all the way up, his arm sliding under her as he bent down slightly. Knowing what he wanted instinctively she wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her up. He took her back to her bedroom as she continued to kiss him, and she was impressed he didn't fall over with as distracting as she was being. When they were in her bedroom at last he stopped them next to the bed and went back to kissing her, slowing their frantic pace down a little as he held her flat against him, letting her legs slide down so she was standing again. She moaned in approval as her hands tangled in his now very wrinkled and abused shirt and he reached up and stroked her face. Her eyes fluttered open and he watched her for a long moment, going still. There was something there in his face, some nameless unspeakable desire that she kept getting flashes of when they were alone together, and found herself deeply, terribly eager for it.

"You're perfect." He told her, which had her catching her breath in surprise as he wasn't one to doll out praises or exaggerate his feelings in the slightest. "I just want to be sure this is what you want."

"Yes." She breathed, leaning up and kissing him. That was apparently all either of them could manage in the way of waiting any longer for this because then they were kissing like they would never get to touch one another again. She had never been so consumed with want before, felt as if she were losing her mind, and found she really didn't care. Even her nervousness over doing this had seared away to almost nothing, and she thought that must be strange considering up until now nervous bubbles had always surfaced once he was over her. Reaching behind her he pulled at the zipper of her top and she stilled enough for him to pull it all the way down to the small of her back. Then his warm hands were running over her exposed skin and she let out a high pitched whimper of approval.

Twisting, he pulled her after him as he sat on the edge of her bed and she straddled his legs at once, pressing her lips firmly against his. Seto's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her tighter against him before he let her go so he could pull her shirt up and over her head. Lifting her arms up she helped him and he dropped the shirt away at once. His eyes raked down as he rubbed his hands firmly along her rib cage. Squirming in approval she realized she was panting lightly and pushed at his shoulders as she arched to the side. Catching her as she tossed them sideways he laid her down over the bed and draped himself over her, his mouth locked against hers. Slipping her arms over his shoulders she quickly wrapped her leg around his waist to keep him right where he was and he groaned as she locked her hips up against his. He pressed down against her, rubbing himself over her in an effort to find some relief. Reaching farther down his back she caught his shirt and began to drag it up, trying to rid herself of the obstacle.

Seto pushed himself up long enough to grab it himself and yanked it over his head quickly, tossing it away and laying back over her as quickly as he could. His arm slid under her and then she felt his fingers fumbling with the clasp on her bra. Before she could help him with it he had it undone and she found herself wondering at the deft movements. Kissing her hotly he pulled at the fabric and she let him take it off. He dropped the lacy material away and stared down at her with glittering eyes full of lustful approval. Bending his head down he began to kiss his way along her neck and she moaned as she stretched up to make it easier. As she did one of his hands slid up to her chest and he squeezed her breast lightly before circling his thumb over her, which had her arching sharply and gasping. Clearly liking that reaction he did it again before running his hand down and tugging on the button of her shorts. The action had her starting to squirm desperately and he grunted as she let out a high pitched whimper of want.

Wasting no time he got her shorts loose and shifted up so he could get them off. As soon as there was room, before he could settle at all, she was pulling at the top of his pants quickly. Surprised but approving he helped her and then went back to her, grabbing the bottom of her shorts and tugging them down her legs. She lifted her hips to help him, rapidly losing patience with how long this was taking for all they were frantically rushing toward the inevitable conclusion of this encounter. He leaned in and kissed her again as he hooked his fingers under the side of her panties and peeled them off her with a quick tug. She felt herself flushing even as she started to push his pants down his hips and he batted her hands away so he could kick them off, along with his boxers.

Finally free of their clothing he slid back down next to her on his side, reaching out and pulling her up against him. She caught hold of his shoulders again and kissed him, her heart beating hard in her chest as waves of heat rolled over her. Seto wrapped one arm firmly around her and reached down between her legs, beginning to rub her. She nearly came off the bed when the tips of fingers stroked her and she felt him smirk into her lips at the reaction. He continued to rub her and she writhed against him as her body began to tighten up. Despite his very obvious lust he was shockingly patient, watching her intently as he wound her up to a breaking point and dipping his head down to kiss her every few seconds. Honestly, it didn't take him long tip her over the edge. She was so wound up she was actually shocked it took him more than a few seconds. A few minutes in he twisted his hand a little and pressed one of his fingers inside of her and she shattered apart at the sudden sensation. Letting out a low wail she clutched at him hard as a shudder tore through her.

Seto held her tightly against him as pleasure coursed through her, obviously fascinated and extremely pleased with himself. She found she could only approve of that, and when he rolled her to her back and started to kiss her insistently she pulled him over her with shaky arms. He stroked her all over as she began to tremble, the pleasure fading back to be replaced with nervous excitement. His hand flowed down past her hip and to her thigh, nudging it open as he moved all the way over her. His hand moved back up to her hip and he held it firmly as he propped himself up with his other arm. Breaking out of a kiss he spoke, his voice badly strained. "Okay?"

Nodding adamantly she reached up and put her hand on the back of his head, pulling it down and kissing him. Shifting forward his hand tightened around her as he pressed inside her in a rush. A sharp pain snapped through her and she grimaced as it pushed the other, much more pleasurable sensations away. Seto was clearly distracted and didn't see her expression as he groaned out a curse of gratification, his head tipping forward. He stretched out, his hand leaving her hip and sliding under her, pulling her into a tight hug as he flattened himself down. Her fingers dug into his back, and she bit her lip as he began to rock inside her, the sting turning into a sharp sort of ache. But he was panting harshly, clearly feeling very good indeed, and she tried to focus on how good it felt to be close to him as he lost himself fully inside of her.

Slowly, the ache diminished and he started to kiss her neck again as he moved, regaining himself somewhat. As the pain faded back her body took over and she began to rock with him. Seto groaned as soon as she began to move and she figured she must be doing this right. That thought was reinforced as she felt him rubbing something inside of her she hadn't been aware existed and a shiver hit her as all the muscles in her abdomen tightened. Strange, soft moans began to fall out of her at the feeling, and the sounds spurred him on. He began to rock faster and turned his head to kiss her mouth. She returned the kiss as they silently found a rhythm together, the pressure building up incrementally. Fully focused on him she found herself gazing up into his face as they moved and he set his forehead on hers, watching her intently. The intensity of that, of having those dark navy eyes of his seemingly looking into her soul as he pressed inside her was too much. She broke apart with a sharp cry of relief and he began to falter as she pulsed around him. As she writhed below him he lost his pace completely and slammed his hips against hers with his own ragged groan of completion. He slummed over her a moment later, his body pressing hers into her mattress as he went slack.

Holding him to her she panted, feeling so good she could hardly believe it. Above her Seto was gasping in large breaths as he shook, his face resting at the base of her neck and his warm breath gusting against her sweaty skin. They were both completely unraveled and she was glad she wasn't the only one. As her body pulsed with unexpected aftershocks of pleasure Seto's arms tightened around her slightly, almost like was afraid she was going to vanish. Thinking that was the last thing that was going to happen she squeezed at his shoulders, liking how close they were, and all but basking in the heat radiating off of him. After a long time he shifted out of her and collapsed onto the bed beside her. She turned toward him at once, ignoring the ache between her legs, which had returned as her orgasm faded away, and he put his arm over her back as she pressed flush up against him. He let her go just long enough to pull a blanket over them and then went still with her against him, his breathing still ragged, but slowly returning to normal. Snuggling her face against his skin she relaxed fully, completely satisfied in every way.

Seto reached up and began to stroke her hair gently, his fingers winding through the strands. They were quiet for a long time, basking in the afterglow. Finally, he broke the comfortable silence. "Did I hurt you?" He asked quietly.

"Only a little." She replied honestly, feeling herself blushing. "It's almost gone now."

He ran his hand over her head gently. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She replied quietly. "The last bit made the whole thing worth it." Leaning in he kissed her forehead. "Best birthday ever."

He laughed softly, tickling his fingers down her spine. "If only I had mentioned this last year."

She grinned up at him, a light blush staining her cheeks. "You probably wouldn't have been received quite as well."

Smiling, he kissed her again, warmly, and she relaxed all over. When he pulled away he traced her jaw with his finger, studying her quietly. Used to him thinking so deeply she stared back at him, more than content to lay against him while he turned over whatever it was he was turning over. After several long seconds he spoke. "Are you happy with me?"

She watched him, wondering where that had come from. "Of course I'm happy with you." She told him. "No one has ever made me so happy before." She smiled at him shyly. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I promise I'll take care of you, Sarah." He told her sincerely. "And keep you safe."

She frowned a little, confused by the adamant sincerity of that statement. "No one's going to hurt me, Seto." Leaning in he kissed her, and she relaxed as he stroked his hand down her back.

"No, they won't." He whispered, rolling her over to her back again. "You're beautiful." He told her, changing the subject as he ran his hands over her, his expression changing to one of palpable desire. "I'm going to make you feel good again." He told her matter of factly, his bold narcism coming out full force.

"O-okay." She agreed breathlessly as he started to kiss her neck again. Closing her eyes she bent her head back, letting him do what he wanted, because it was what she wanted too. The next few hours were a blur of sweetness and sensuality that had her melting over and over again in his arms until they finally fell asleep tangled up together in her bed in the early hours of the morning. Tucked securely under his arm she was dragged back awake when she got too hot and stretched out sleepily, thinking she simply needed to push the blanket off herself so she could rest again.

Opening her eyes she reared her head up when she found herself in a different room altogether. Looking around frantically she saw that instead of her bedroom she was in a large, stone room covered in archaic looking decoration. Along two of the walls torches were flickering, sending odd shadows dancing about the darkened room. They caught on several tapestries hanging off the walls on either side of a great golden door engraved with symbols she could neither read nor decipher. On the floors were thick, well kept fur rugs of a tiger and a zebra. In the far corner she saw a short table covered in the remains of a meal, with an empty goblet tipped on it's side and another standing upright. Closer to her were a mixed pile of clothing, mostly white and cream colored with flashes of blue shining out of them. Sitting up quickly she felt a coarse, linen sheet fall down her and grabbed at it when she realized she was wearing nothing.

As she held it against her chest, fear coursing through her, she heard a low murmur right beside her. Her head whipped around and she saw that Seto was also here, lying on his side on the small bed next to her. Still baffled she calmed slightly at the sight of him and reached over to him, setting her hand on his shoulder. "Seto?"

Rousing himself at the call he blinked awake and saw her sitting up and looking about with worry. Humming, he reached up and drew her back down against him. "What's the matter, my love?"

She frowned, quickly noting the odd formality and tone of his voice and not understanding it in the slightest. "Where are we?"

He curled up around her, tucking her firmly against him. "My home." He reached up and gently caressed her face, watching her with adoration as he corrected himself. "Our home." She didn't understand at all and was about to ask him what he was talking about when she noted something she couldn't really explain. This man, whoever he was, wasn't at all her Seto for all he appeared to be a carbon copy. But there was something in his eyes that wasn't exactly right and apprehension filled her. Misunderstanding the sudden panic he saw he kissed her warmly. "I'll keep you safe, Kisara." He whispered, pressing his lips warmly against hers as second time. "And protect you from this darkness." She had no idea what this person was talking about and was frozen in shock over being kissed by whoever this was as she lay naked against him. "And when this is over we will come back here and you will be my wife in every way. I swear this will not be kept a secret for long."

She jerked away and was suddenly back in her own room. Flailing in confusion she was was prevented from falling off her own bed by Seto's arm around her waist. His head came up as she jolted and managed to catch her more on instinct than anything. "Sarah?"

"What?" She panted, her head whipping around in alarm.

"You had a nightmare." He said groggily. "It's alright, lay back down with me."

She looked around, trying to understand what was going on. That certainly hadn't felt like a nightmare, it was like she hadn't been right there in that strange room with another Seto, but she was clearly safe in her own bedroom now. Slowly, she laid back down, allowing him to tuck the blanket around her and curl up at her back. Slowly, she forced herself to relax and he fell back asleep behind her. Once he stilled she turned her head, tracing his face with her eyes. After several moments she has assured herself this was Seto, the real Seto, and calmed significantly. However, something was very wrong with all of this and she felt something scratching at the back of her mind. Disliking the feeling, fearing it for some reason, she turned and hid herself against his chest, searching for comfort and reassurance that nothing was wrong while knowing that there was. The movement woke him slightly and he rubbed at her back. "Just a dream, Sarah."

"Yes." She agreed quietly. "Just a dream."

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I had a short spurt of writer's block and then rewrote the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it ;)


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Logistics Management

Standing impatiently in the lobby of Kaiba Corp he waited for the last of the marketing team to clear out so he could inspect what they had set up. With the tournament set to start in less than ten hours he had wanted to be very sure every duelist that could possibly be this man showed up here so he could get them on tape and see if they matched anyone that his security team had flagged as a possible threat during his duel at Kaiba Land. He was still beyond frustrated that nothing substantial had been found despite all the security measures that had been put in place before the demonstration with Keith for no other reason than general safety concerns. Not that he could reasonably expected a shadow game in another world to be stopped, but there had to be something that happened leading to that. There had to be some clue that someone had overlooked, because that man had gotten into his duel somehow. He had opened the gateway to the shadow realm in the park itself, meaning he had been there to do it. When the video footage for that part of the facility came up as nothing but a static blur he had fully lost the very tentative control he had on his temper with Sarah near to dead in the hospital. That had set his entire security team at the park in hot water as he demanded an explanation for it, which none of them could provide save to say the computer system for the security cameras had been shut down somehow. He had gone into the system at once to find the source, and noted that the cameras in that section of the park had indeed been turned off in the most simplistic hacking job he'd ever seen. That no one had noticed when he specifically hired professionals, and had been very direct in his demands that the security needed to be tight at the event had resulted in multiple people losing their jobs. Clearly, no one could be trusted to do anything.

Shoving his anger at that down yet again he focused on the here and now, as there was nothing to do about that issue anymore. The easiest way to identify this man quickly was to have all the duelist competing to pick up a new duel disk here, in his space, that he could fully control and monitor. He had taken every precaution this time, including having Noah monitoring everything in this building from top to bottom. Even so, he wasn't fool enough to think that this would be a surefire solution. This man was clearly smart, and may be able to fake his way through this with ease. If he was already an established duelist him showing up here would raise no alarms at all, which would also bypass the first of his defenses. In all likelihood he was going to have to wait for the man to strike at something and had prepared for that as well. He had been sure to place tracking devices in all the duel disks, which came off as an easy way to mark them so they could broadcast the duels. In reality it was another way to track what was happening at all times, and if this person came he would slip up eventually, he had too. He was more than willing to dangle Yugi and his friends up as bait to get that to happen as well.

As his employees began to file out of the lobby, their task complete, he moved in to be sure everything was up to his standards, which were exacting to say the least. Mokuba was already poking about, having inserted himself into the chaos over an hour ago. He let his brother do what he wanted, not at all bothered by him directing things. Overall, he had been impressed with what Mokuba had accomplished, and save for the small matter of nearly overrunning Sarah with work he had done a nice job of the thing. Still, there were always going to be mistakes made, especially at the start, and it was just as well it had been Sarah that had gotten the brunt end of the mishap. While he certainly didn't want her panicked or run into the ground, which had happened, she wasn't about to hold that against Mokuba in any way. As he looked around at the set up, rather liking the tower of duel disk boxes that had been created in the shape of a duel monster Sarah wandered quietly into the area from the back of the lobby, having no doubt come out from one of the elevators from her office, and stuck her head into the display curiously as he removed a duel disk from a box to inspect it critically now that he was satisfied with how everything looked. He hadn't seen her since this morning and felt a wave of warmth when he caught sight of her white hair out of the corner of his eye.

They hadn't spent a night apart in the last week, and he couldn't have been more pleased with the situation. Save, of course, for the issue with the psychopathic maniac that was trying to suck out her soul, and apparently get both his and his brother's as well. But he supposed no relationship was perfect. Other than all of them being in grave danger he had no complaints at all. After the first night, which had really blown any and all expectations he had far out of the water, he had managed to get her to stay with him at the mansion, although that had been a real feat. He was sure the only reason he finally succeeded was that she was as eager to end up in his bed again as he was to have her there and she knew he couldn't leave his brother alone all night. Having invited her over for dinner after he finally got out of the office that evening, and he had never wanted to be out of it more, he had made it quickly and bluntly clear that he would very much like her to stay for as long as she was willing once she was in his home. Sarah had blushed brilliantly as he punctuated that with a kiss and he had smiled into her, pleased and amused with the reaction, especially considering how welcoming she had been to him when they woke up in her bed that morning. Not that he had felt differently than she had. His poorly repressed possessiveness of her affection and the overwhelming attachment he had to her had solidified completely now. He knew enough about himself to know there was no going back or pretending she was less to him than she was. He wasn't the sort of man capable of sharing, or of letting go of things he valued, and valued nothing more than Sarah, save perhaps his brother who he loved just as much in a different way. He had said nothing about those feelings, but was sure she had sensed at least some of that as they twined together in her bed. Sadly, and much too soon, they had to leave to go to work, but it had been a halting sort of affair to get out of her apartment.

It had been clear she wanted to stay at the mansion with him, but equally clear that she was anxious about how she would be household viewed by his staff, who would no doubt notice she never left, not to mention being caught by his brother. There weren't many ways to interpret her staying overnight at this point, especially when she had her own place. Not at all embarrassed himself he still understood her concerns, even if he fully meant to overturn them. While he was still conscious about her reputation at work, as his views on what others would think would no doubt be as condemning as he was imagining, this was more than a fling. In his mind, and he was sure hers, this was a serious and committed relationship, which was drastically different even if it might be seen as nothing more than scandalous at the office, and doubtlessly the press soon after. However, he could really see no way around the initial fallout no matter what sort of relationship he had with her, or hypothetically anyone else, not that there would be anyone else. He was too well known in too many ways for his personal life not to be a source of entertainment and gossip, which was irritating in the extreme. One way or another she was going to get hit with the brunt of this, which was in every way unfair, but what was going to happen. He was already gearing up to mitigate that situation when it erupted, but until then he fully intended to have what everyone else had in a relationship, including time with his partner.

He let her consider his very sincere offer at her own pace as they had dinner, and after, as the two of them and Mokuba relaxed in the family room. Unaware that his brother knew they were seeing one another she had sat beside him on the couch, but not near enough to touch, which was utterly distracting in every way to him, when only that morning he been able to touch all of her and wanted nothing more than to do that again. The only consolation he had was silently noting her squirming out of the corner of his eye for the hour they were in there. Mokuba had finally given up on being awake, as it was past ten at that point and he was clearly worn out between school and getting the tournament ready, and retreated to bed. As soon as he was sure his brother had enough of a head start not to see them, as that clearly mattered to Sarah, he stood up and held his hand down to her. She met his eyes, her cheeks flushing again, and slipped her fingers over his palm. Taking the silent acceptance for what it was he pulled her up and headed toward his room with her in tow, fully pleased with himself. Sarah followed him quietly, and he could feel the nervous excitement rolling out of her, which really only had his anticipation growing to a degree he could hardly handle. He wasn't used to not being able to think straight, and she was destroying any and all higher thought processes he had. When they got to the family wing she squeezed his hand and he paused, pulling her closer and kissing her warmly.

Sarah relaxed noticeably, although her eyes darted down to Mokuba's room when they pulled apart. He followed her line of sight. "He won't hear us. He sleeps with the radio on." He promised, thinking that might be the problem. He knew she was rather shy by nature, and if the thought of Mokuba knowing they were sleeping together was too much for her he could only assume that the idea of being overheard would throw her into a panic. And while she hadn't been overly loud last night, she hadn't been quiet either, which had sent more than one wave of self-satisfaction through him.

Her flush darkened. "I don't want him to think-"

He cut off that line of thought before she could get it started. "He knows we're seeing each other."

Sarah blinked up at him, not looking bothered, only a bit surprised. "You told him?"

"In a manner of speaking." He agreed. When she frowned in question he elaborated, wondering how quickly he could get her into his bedroom. "He saw us one night when we were in the library. He worked out the rest."

Her eyes went wide and her face filled with embarrassment. "Oh." She managed on a strangled whimper, her sense of propriety shattered at her feet.

"It's fine." He assured her, not at all worried about it and tugging her insistently toward his room, which was now only a few feet away. She started following him again, but when he pushed the door open and stepped through the doorway he was met with resistance. Turning his head he saw her whole demeanor had changed from eager to wary as she paused on the threshold. She was still holding onto him, but was frowning as she stared past him into the room. Her expression was guarded and he could see in her eyes that something had disturbed her.

"This is your room?" She asked too carefully.

All at once he realized that this was where she had seen the magic that had apparently tried to drag her off somewhere before she had blown up his security system. It hadn't occurred to him that after living here for a short time she didn't know where his bedroom was. But almost immediately after that realized the only day he hadn't been up and ready before she left the guest bedroom was that first day she'd left to replace her clothes when he had still been asleep. He always kept his door shut when he wasn't there, and she had never seen him walk in or out of it with the exception of the night he had hurried in to hide the millennium rod. No wonder she suddenly looked ready to bolt. He pretended like nothing was wrong in the hopes she would either let it go or assume she was remembering wrong and had been at a different door, although he didn't reasonable expect that as her memory was nearly as sharp as his. "All of them are technically my rooms." She didn't find that humorous the way she normally would have. He shifted so his arm came in, pulling her directly against him and through the threshold. She let out a little gasp of surprise and he bent down quickly and kissed her before she could catch her balance. Reaching up he cradled the back of her head and deepened the kiss as he surreptitiously kicked the door closed behind her. Sarah relaxed in a rush, going pliant in his arms and he broke away slowly, going back several times before pulling away. She stared up at him with those captivating eyes clouded over with lust and he rubbed his fingers over the back of her head. "Let's go to bed." He whispered. Sarah jolted a little when she noticed what had happened, and he saw her eyes dart around nervously for several moments before they landed on his dresser.

Catching sight of the two photographs instead of the millennium rod she tilted her head a little and he felt a lot of the tension leave her. "What are those?" She asked curiously, and he supposed she had decided it was safe since nothing had happened once they were shut in together.

"Pictures."

She looked back up at him. "You kept the one I took?"

"Yes." He replied simply, reaching up and running his thumb over her petal soft bottom lip. Her expression softened as she quickly worked out what it must mean for him to have a picture of her on his dresser.

Reaching up she caught his hand and held it away from her mouth so she could speak,watching him closely. "It's a ridiculous picture of us."

"You and Mokuba are both ridiculous. I found it an accurate portrayal." He teased her. "Clearly you have an artist's eye for realism."

"Hey!" She laughed in mock outrage, and any and all concern she had about the room had vanished. "That's mean!"

He chuffed out a small laugh even as he reached down and picked her up, figuring he could simply take her where he wanted her before she got distracted by anything else. Sarah let out a breathy gasp and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he took a few steps over to his bed. Bending down he deposited her on it and then followed after her, putting one of his arms under her and lifting her up toward the head of the bed. Sarah hummed at the show of strength and reached up to cup his face. Pulling it down with ease she kissed him hotly and he draped himself over her. He allowed himself to fully relax, a luxury he rarely afforded himself even when he was alone. To do so with another person was nearly unheard of with him and he savored the experience. Tingles of excitement warred with small shocks of pleasure as Sarah began to feel him out with shy, questing caresses, as if they had never touched one another before. He found it intriguing as she had had rushes of boldness since they started dating, often jumping into physical contact spontaneously, or at least for reasons he couldn't fathom. And last night she had been anything but shy for all her blushing and apprehension over what they were doing. She had been bashful with him all day, at least the few times they'd interacted at work, and certainly nervously reserved when she came over. He wondered why, other than the obvious shift in their relationship, and how long this would last, but also found the shyness appealing in it's own way.

Continuing to kiss her he reached down for her shirt and began to push it up, eager to have them both out of their clothes. While part of him wanted to take his time and have her fall apart over and over again the other part of him simply couldn't wait to be inside her again. Very aware they would be at one another most of the night he promised himself to take his time with her the second time, once he could actually keep hold of himself. Sarah got caught up in his eagerness and began to help him get them undressed. He pressed his mouth over hers hotly and Sarah moaned into his mouth, arching up against him with a breathy gasp.

The atmosphere quickly became frantic, the shift occurring all at once as he settled his hand on the bare skin of her abdomen. A strangled sort of moan escaped her at the touch and something about the noise shattered the tentative hold he had on his self control. Sarah pressed full length against him, practically coming off the mattress, and began to rip at his shirt, which was still half buttoned. The sound of ripping pinged against his ears and he couldn't have cared less that she just ripped the expensive fabric. Seeing that this was hurtling toward what he had been wanting since he had reluctantly left her bed this morning he yanked at her jeans off her and she wiggled out of her panties before he could even reach for them. A growl of approval fell out of him and he got up long enough to rid himself of the rest if his clothes before re-joining her on the bed.

Sarah reached for him at once and he pressed himself over her, her warm skin a welcoming sensation against his own. He ran a trail of kisses down the smooth column of her neck as he reached down and pushed her legs apart. Sarah didn't need the direction or encouragement. Twining one of her legs over his she adjusted herself so they were lined up, her slickness coating him as they pressed against one another, and pulled at his arms urgently. "Seto." She whimpered with such earnest neediness that he nearly came right there. Biting the inside of his cheek to try to prepare himself pressed inside her wet heat and groaned, wondering how he thought he could ever be ready to feel this way. Nothing could ever compare to this, to being pressed inside of her. Sarah moaned into his ear as he settled inside of her and he began to move at once, unable to fight the instinctual response.

Almost at once small hitching noises began escape Sarah, ones he hadn't heard her make before, and the sound sent ripples of satisfaction through him as it was apparent they were very good sounds. However, he was quickly distracted by what he was feeling, her body gripping his tightly, and all he could hope to do was hold off for as long as he could before he lost it. Panting harshly he found her lips and kissed her again as he began to thrust harder, approaching his climax much more quickly than he had wanted. Sarah returned the kiss for a moment before she abruptly arched back with a sharp cry of release, her entire body going rigid and her nails digging into his upper arms as she plastered herself against him. Having somehow gotten her to her peak in a very short amount of time he let himself go, all but grinding himself against her in his desperate quest for gratification. Heat pooled in his belly as the tightness he had been trying to keep a handle on fell loose. A blast of pure, undefinable pleasure crashed over him and he groaned her name loudly as he all but ground her down into the sheets. His fingers clenched into the sheets on either side of her head for a seemingly endless amount of time as his vision went dark and every nerve in his body sang. Finally, the sensations crashed down, his body unable to sustain them, and he slumped over her as shudders raced down his spine and all his limbs tingled pleasantly.

As he lay over her, his head beside hers and his breath gusting against her skin, Sarah let out a low, shuddering breath and turned so her face was hidden against his shoulder. He let out a small grunt as she continued to squeeze him inside of her and managed to press one of his arms against her side before going still again. Letting himself bask in the relaxation that brought he closed his eyes, fully satisfied save for how quickly that had all gone, but mollified somewhat as he had managed to get Sarah to orgasm. They lay like that for several quiet, peaceful minutes, their breathing returning to normal, before she broke the silence. "That felt really good." She told him. "It didn't hurt at all that time."

He frowned slightly, his eyes coming open. "It hurt after the first time?"

"A little." She admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" He demanded, bothered that this had not been a good experience for her. He had known the first time was going to hurt her, which had already troubled him immensely despite how much he wanted her, but he hadn't anticipated he would hurt her after that.

She shrugged and wiggled about so she was cuddled up to him better, forcing him to shift out of her at last to accommodate the move. Once she was settled, laying against his chest under his arm, she answered. "It still felt good." She assured him honestly. "It was sort of like exercising the day after a hard workout, it was a good sort of sore. Besides, you would have been stubborn about it if I told you that."

Shaking his head a little he relaxed again. "I don't want to hurt you. You should have told me."

"I don't know what you possibly could have done to prevent it." She replied, tracing nonsensical patterns over his chest, as fully relaxed as he was. She changed the subject, clearly unconcerned. "I thought everything would change if we started doing this, but it didn't." She kept caressing him gently, her eyes on his chest. "I mean, it is different, but it's not at the same time. I feel the same way."

For his part he was sure his feelings couldn't get any deeper. As much as he had tried he could no more push the memories and emotions he had for her in his past life away as he could stop breathing. Returning to her bed had been more like a homecoming than anything, for all he had tried to separate the experience from one life to the next he found it was impossible. Still, it hadn't taken away anything from the event, only added another, more intimate layer to it. Reaching up he petted the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her now mussed hair. "Worried you wouldn't like me?" He teased softly.

"Of course not." She replied, amused. "I lo-" Sarah cut herself off abruptly and he stilled all over, both of them fully aware of how that sentence had been meant to end. Having not expected that at all, and caught off guard, he said nothing as he tried to process that. He had been wanting nothing more than confirmation of that since she appeared in Domino, but on some level never honestly expected it if she couldn't remember their past together. As the silence stretched out Sarah cringed down, obviously terrified that had escaped her. "I shouldn't have said that." She whispered, panic lacing her words. "I- I know you don't, I don't expect you to, I didn't mean-"

Catching her face he pulled it to his and kissed her before she spooked herself fully out of his bed. Sarah had clearly scared herself witless letting that secret slip and had begun to shake slightly in distress. Slipping one arm under her he rolled her to her back and deepened the kiss as he cradled her against him. After a moment she began to relax a bit, but was still shivering against him. Understanding that Sarah hadn't received any sort of actual verbal assurance of love since her parents died well over a decade ago, and likely had never expected it again he tried to get her to relax. Reaching up he pushed her hair back out of her face, murmuring reassuringly to her between kisses. "It's alright." He found, despite himself, he was having a very difficult time saying it back to her even as the part of him that was still the priest was breathless with relief, and the new part of him was engulfed in a strange feeling of dizzy lightness. "Say it." He insisted, and he tried to ignore the note of desperation in his voice. "Say it, Sarah." He murmured right before he kissed her again, trying to convey what he was unable to verbalize.

When he lifted his head and stared down at her he saw her eyes were wide and unsure. He caressed her face, hovering over her impatiently. For the briefest moment he thought she was going to start crying, although he had no idea why, but she gathered herself and spoke, her voice barely even a whisper. "I love you."

He let out a slow breath as she watched him apprehensively and he kissed her again, managing to keep it gentle, although emotions were crashing over him. "Good." He managed at last, although he knew it wasn't enough and fought past the odd resistance in his throat, her nervousness prodding him forcefully past the insecurity, although it still came out all wrong. "It seems to make things easier since we feel the same way about it." Sarah stared up at him for a moment with those ridiculously large eyes before a nervous, happy giggle of delight escaped her. Pressing back against him they quickly lost themselves again, and nothing about the next round had been any slower than the first, although it had been more satisfying than he could possibly describe. Yes, the last few nights had been truly perfect, especially when some of Sarah's shyness had receded and they had begun experimenting a little more.

Shaking himself forcefully out of his thoughts, which he could make into a reality again as soon as his inspection was done, he refocused on what he was doing. Seeing that the tracking chips had been successfully and covertly installed he was about to put the disk back in its box when a commotion started up behind him, toward the front of the lobby. There was a sort of thump, followed by a scuffle of feet sliding across the tile, and then Roland was snapping with authority. "No one is allowed in here! Get back outside immediately!"

Turning his head he saw Mokuba leaning over part of the display to see what was going on. Sarah's head, as well as the rest of her had vanished, and he took a step forward past the tower of duel disk boxes to see who was slowing this process down. At the front of Kaiba Corp, trying to shove their way in past four security guards were Tristan and Joey, who had been mostly caught by his people and were flailing like idiots. Behind them Tea and Bakura appeared to be shoving the two farther into the hands of their captors in an effort to get inside past them, and Yugi had a long suffering look on his face as he watched the chaos from the rear. To say he was surprised to see the geek squad would certainly be an overstatement. They seemed to constantly be in his way at the most inconvenient of times. He hadn't invited them to this tournament to bother him, only to use them, although he was seriously looking forward to facing Yugi again. Without missing a beat he flicked his hand forward, pointing outside. "Toss them in the fountain." He ordered casually. "I doubt the mutt's had a decent bath in weeks. I can smell him from over here."

"I heard that!" Joey snapped.

"I was aware you were dumb rather than deaf." He remarked.

"Could you not be horrible for three seconds, Kaiba?" Tea demanded as she shoved her shoulder into the small of Tristan's back, which had him yelping loudly. "We just want to talk."

"Yes." He replied sarcastically, thinking that would not be happening. He had no interest in discussing current events with them, especially in front of Sarah and a small group of his employees. "It certainly looks as if you want to talk with the way you've barged in here like a bunch of poorly dressed thugs."

"This is a brand new jacket!" Tristan snapped. "I resent that!"

"No one is supposed to be in here until tomorrow." Mokuba told them, coming fully out in the open. "You can pick your duel disks up with everyone else." His brother crossed his arms. "No exceptions."

Sarah stepped into view, looking around him shoulder from where she had entered at the back of the lay out. Joey yanked with his left arm, trying to get loose. "Then why does she get to be here?"

He stared at him unblinkingly. "Because unlike all of you she works here." He informed him, wondering what else they thought she was doing here dressed the way she was. Clearly, she wasn't in a casual outfit by any means. Sarah happened to be in his favorite of her work clothes today, the navy pencil skirt and the white blouse that set the rest of her appearance off so well.

She also had on the necklace he gave her, although he was fairly certain it hadn't come off of her at all since she received it on her birthday, which pleased him immensely. She was also carrying a very expensive looking bag that was clearly meant for an upscale office.

Yugi managed to wiggle inside and Tristan sent Sarah a truly sorry look. "But why? Did he blackmail you or something? We can help."

Sarah frowned in irritation. "No one's making me work here, Tristan." She told him, irritation in her voice. "I'm not a slave."

"Sarah was hired by a Kaiba Corp recruiter." Mokuba informed them, also looking angry at the blatant implication that he had wronged her in some way. "She didn't even meet Seto until three weeks after a contract was offered to her."

Tea was genuinely baffled. "That means he hired you before you started at Domino." Sarah said nothing, but Tea clearly didn't need her to. "But why? Kaiba wouldn't hire you unless you could do something no one else could."

"Oh." Bakura said, understanding lighting his face as it popped up between Joey, Tristan, and two security guards. "You speak five languages. Is that why he hired you?"

Sarah sent him a sideways glance before saying anything. "I speak eleven languages." She told the other man after a brief pause. "I'm Seto's personal translator. I didn't move to the other side of the world on a wing and a prayer. I came here for employment."

They all stared at her, dumbfounded, for several seconds before he had enough. He had better things to do than talk to these idiots. "Now that we've all caught up, get out." He ordered in a clipped tone.

"We really do need to speak with you." Bakura insisted as he bobbed his head up over the small crowd again.

"Forget about it." Joey scoffed. "Rich boy ain't interest in our help."

"Truer words have never been spoken." He said, agreeing with Joey for the first time in his life. "Assuming I believe any of you capable of helping anyone in anyway."

Yugi sent him a penetrating look, which he ignored for the moment, although Yugi noted he had caught his eye for a millisecond. He was certain in an instant Mokuba had mentioned what this tournament was about to him, but unlike the others he was willing to wait to talk. No doubt he also didn't feel the need for an audience. He was more or less convinced Motou had been dragged here despite his protests by his friends. "That's it! Two minutes with you after months apart and I already want to strangle you!" He stared at Joey in a way that clearly told him he was as afraid of that threat as he was a light breeze. The other man began to splutter with utter, uncontrollable indignation, which only delighted him internally. It was simply so easy to get Wheeler to spin himself into a tizzy. "Duel me, you jerk!" He yelled. "I'll knock you at out of your own tournament before it even starts!"

"I won't waste my time." He told him calmly. "I've beaten better duelists in my sleep. I've beaten you in my sleep for that matter."

"Just afraid I'll beat you this time?" The mutt taunted ineffectually.

"Terrified." He replied dryly, completely unimpressed with the other man's attempts at goading him. He had no interest in wasting his time on Wheeler. "Besides, I'm not going to premier my newest dueling system on a second rate wash up. I'll pick a more impressive opponent to start my tournament."

He saw Sarah looking at the duel disk and then up at Joey as he began to turn his back to the lot of them. Joey began to yell again, this time profanely, as his security team began to haul him back. Sarah gazed up at him, catching his eyes, and her voice somehow penetrated the squabbling. "Can I?" She asked him.

Everyone went quiet and he stared down at her with interest, his eyebrow inching up. "What?"

"Can I try it?" She asked him again, clearly wanting to try it. "I've never gotten to use any of the holographic systems before and I have my own deck now."

His eyes hooded with interest at the request. Sarah did indeed have her own deck now, having been playing with him on and off since the first day he put one together for her. While she was healing from the shadow duel they had spent multiple evenings sparing together as she didn't have to move about very much to play, and she had altered the deck he gave her on her own over the last two months after he gave her full access to all the cards he had save the ones in his own deck. She had consistently been presenting him with interesting challenges as they played together. She had never won against him, as he easily had her bested with his well practiced strategies, but she had made some beautifully ingenious plays he wasn't sure even he would have thought of. Mokuba sided with her before he could say anything.

"Yeah, big brother." Mokuba agreed, sending Wheeler a mischievous grin. "Let Sarah try. She never gets to win. I bet she could take Joey."

"What?" Joey scoffed. "I'm world ranked."

"Sarah could beat you." Mokuba said with surprising confidence. "Seto's been teaching her."

Sarah glanced over at Mokuba with real surprise, apparently not thinking she was very good at the game at all considering she had never won a single round against either of them. But Mokuba wasn't wrong, she was good, and he was fairly certain she could in fact match Wheeler given the chance, especially if the mutt underestimated her, which he obviously did. He handed her the duel disk at once and she took it with a smile, clearly delighted she would get to try it out. "Since Sarah wants to play." He agreed with ease. "It certainly seems appropriate that beauty slays the beast." He was sure to tempt Joey so he would agree since it was clear that was what Sarah wanted. "If you beat her you can take me on, Wheeler."

"Fun! Thanks, Seto!" Sarah said as she slipped the thing on her arm after he handed it to her. Once it was secured she reached into her bag and pulled her deck out before dropping the expensive leather on the ground in her excitement. "I've been wanting to try this forever!"

"Wow." Tristan said as she practically skipped over to a clear place.

Making a motion with his hand he spoke to his security. "Let them go. You can throw them into the fountain after the duel."

"Oh, real nice." Tea muttered under her breath, not at all quietly, which had him smirking.

As soon as he was free Joey marched over and snatched another duel disk box off the display and moved across from Sarah in the lobby so they had room. "Piece of cake." He remarked as he tore the box open and put the disk on his own arm. "Tell you what, I'll go go easy on you and go first. That should help you out."

He frowned at the tone as he and Mokuba moved back out of the way and toward Sarah's side, enraged with the slandering. Sarah's eyes glittered in anger at the blatant patronization, which never went over well with her, and clearly decided to destroy Wheeler in that moment, although the mutt didn't pick up on the shift from excited to on point at all. He really should have kept this in the realm of entertainment instead of making it some sort of chauvinistic challenge. Yugi was darting glances between them, thoughts racing behind his eyes, and Tea snapped at him. "Be nice, Joey! This is her first real duel and you weren't always so great yourself!" Sarah extended her arm and the two holographic projectors shot out on either side of her.

"Come on, I'm just teasing." He replied as he followed suite, not sounding at all sincere. As soon as the field was ready he pulled six cards from his deck. "I'm sure she'll make it at least a few rounds."

"You're rude." She informed him. "I don't know why Mia dates you. I'm going to beat you."

"Yeah, okay." He agreed sarcastically as he laid a card down. "I summon Flame Swordsman in attack mode, and I'll lay this card face down." He grinned widely. "And the ladies can't get enough of this."

The monster came to life and she pulled her own five cards, then drew one more as it was her opening move. Her eyes flicked over her selection quickly. "Gross." She laid a card down quickly. "I'll use Petit Dragon in defense mode and lay these two cards down for my turn." Everyone looked at her and she smiled as the little dragon bounced before her. "Isn't it cute?" She asked adoringly.

"You're going to beat me with that?" Joey asked with near pity. "What was Kaiba teaching you? How to lose?"

"Ummm." Bakura didn't seem any more impressed than Joey, but also didn't seem to want Sarah to get run over in the duel either. For his part he simply watched silently, keeping his face impassive, as Mokuba scratched the back of his head, chagrined. Unlike everyone else, save possibly Yugi, he knew better than to underestimate a low level card. They could be amped up with the right spell cards, and if they were destroyed they didn't take a large chunk out of life points. Used appropriately they could be devastating. He also had the advantage of knowing what the vast majority of her deck was, although she seemed to change something on a daily basis, and had a very strong hunch as to what was coming.

"Pfft." She said, unafraid. "She's super cool." Sarah informed him. "Clearly, you're just afraid of her. You should be, she's going to roast your fire man."

"It's a flame swordsman!" Wheeler yelled. "And it's got more than twice as many attack points!"

"Whatever." She said. "She's going to barbecue him."

"The petit dragon uses electric attacks." He commented calmly, somehow managing to tell her without sounding condescending. He wouldn't have said anything, but he was more than happy to continue to lure the mutt into a false sense of security for her benefit.

She turned her head toward him. "I mean, wouldn't that still make it crispy?" His lips twitched up in reply and she smiled back, turning her attention forward again. "Okay, I'm ready." She said eagerly.

"I almost feel bad doing this." He commented. "Attack her, Flame Swordsman!" The warrior raced forward and she hummed as she flipped over one of her cards into play. As she did a fireball exploded around her petite dragon, which Sarah fully ignored. "Well, that was…" Joey stopped as a circle of silver appeared in front of her dragon and flashed gold. "It's still there." He stated as the fire continued to swirl and his warrior tried to break through the shield. "Why is it still there?"

"Oh, I played this card." She told him, showing it to him. "It's called Draining Shield." He snorted in amusement and Yugi let out a yelp as his swordsman was abruptly hurled backward.

"Draining wha-?" Before the question fully left him the fire rebounded as the little dragon let out a growl and sucked the fire into it's mouth before letting out a happy cheap and curling somersaults around Sarah in a ridiculously adorable display for a duel monster. Joey appeared baffled, which wasn't unusual. "So it did what now?"

He crossed his arms, pleased with her as that had been a good opening move. "Draining Shield is a trap card. When an opponent's monster deals an attack the attacked monster negates that attack, and when it does gains life points equal to the target's attack points."

Joey's jaw dropped. "What?"

"That means I just gained six hundred life points and your attack did nothing." Sarah clarified. "Which brings my total up to five thousand six hundred." She drew a card. "My turn."

Joy crossed his arms. "You got lucky."

"Did I?" She asked, and he was interested with how into this she suddenly was when generally she was light hearted about duel monsters at her most intense. "I'll lay another two cards face down and activate a spell card I laid down in the first round." She flipped a card up and her petite dragon let out a growl as it began to glow, zipping back out in front of her. "I activate Dragon Star!" Her petite dragon doubled in size and it's growl became much more menacing. "It raises my petit dragon's attack by five hundred points!"

"Nice try, it's still seven hundred shy of destroying my Flame Swordsman." Joey informed her, waving his hand. "But hey, everyone makes mistakes the first time around-"

"I'm not targeting your stupid monster." Sarah interrupted. "I'm targeting you. Dragon star lets my dragon inflict piercing damage." She threw her hand forward. "Attack him directly!"

"What?" He managed before a ball of yellow lightning blasted into his chest, sending him staggering back. His life points dropped by eleven hundred points and it was Sarah's turn to smirk.

Yugi was frowning, having picked up on her strategy quickly. "Careful, Joey. Sarah's going to-"

She interrupted before he could finish, clearly angry that he was interfering. "Hey!" She protested. "Don't cheat! I'm not asking Seto for advice am I?" Yugi blinked and she went on. "This is our duel, not yours! It's not fair for you to coach him, especially when he's got way more experience than me!"

"Sarah's correct." He sided with her at once. Even by the most generous of standards Sarah was a much less experienced duelist than Joey. And as much as he loathed the thought Joey was ranked fifth in the world. Sarah had never even competed in a local tournament or used any manner of duel disk system. Truthfully, she had every disadvantage. "If you'd like to challenge her after she puts the mutt down that's your business. Until then let them duel." He met Joey's eyes and sent him a smug look. "Unless the world ranked duelist doesn't think he can handle someone who's never even competed before? Maybe he does need you, Yugi." He shrugged dismissively. "We all know you're the only reason he made it through duelist kingdom in the first place. He's made his name off you. You're a second rate duelist, Wheeler, and you always will be."

"I don't need help beating her!" Joey snarled. "And Yug hasn't helped me in a duel since-"

"I haven't helped Sarah at all." He pointed out. "Have I, Mutou?"

Yugi sighed heavily, but nodded in agreement, his sense of fair play and honor winning out. Joey puffed in annoyance, enraged at the jibes and very real accusations of coaching, bordering dangerously on blatant cheating, through Pegasus' tournament, which put him on the map. "That's it!" He said, "I'm taking that thing down!"

"You respect her now." Sarah quipped as Joey yanked a card out of his deck.

"Respect this!" He replied. "I play Axe Raider in attack mode! Even with that spell card your dragon doesn't stand a chance against either of my monsters!" Sarah said nothing, letting Joey get himself worked up. "Axe Raider, attack that dragon!"

His warrior raced forward and Sarah quickly flipped another card as it jumped up to attack her dragon. "Mirror Force!" She called and the warrior's axe slammed into a barrier of crystals. Axe Raider let out a grunt before he was hurled backward into Joey's Flames Swordsman. Both monsters disintegrated in a flash of light as her trap card destroyed all the attack monsters he had on the field. Joey let out an inarticulate sound of shock as Sarah pulled another card from her deck and laid it down on the field, replacing her trap card with another. "This is way more fun with the duel disks." She told him, sending him a smile over her shoulder. "We should have played with these instead of the duel mats." He smiled slightly in agreement as she turned her attention back to Joey. "Petit Dragon, attack his life points directly!" Her little dragon pulled in a breath and then let loose a blast of power. It hit Joey and he snarled as his life points dropped another eleven hundred points. He was fairly lucky her dragon had such low attack. "This is so much more fun with my own deck." She said, pleased all over. "You were totally right, Seto."

Joey was now in a real snit over the entire situation. "That's it! I'm not being taken out by some noob!" Grabbing another card he smirked. "I'm ending this now." He laid a spell card down and two swords appeared, spearing a duel monster card. "I activate the spell card cost down to reduce one of my monster's levels by two, letting me bypass sacrificing. In return I discard one card from my hand." Sarah watched him with interest, rocking slightly on her heels as she waited to see what he would do. Joey didn't have the patience to draw it out. Throwing a card down a huge blast of scarlet light erupted as a large black dragon appeared on the field with a roar that shook the walls. He pressed his lips together, knowing that it was Wheeler's most powerful beast. Sarah would be hard pressed to stand up to a dragon this powerful. "Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Joey called, and he glanced over at Sarah. She was staring up at the dragon with interest, but no real worry, and he frowned slightly, wondering what was going on in her head. "Flaming fireball attack!" A giant fireball hit her little dragon and she flipped over another of her face down cards as it exploded. "There, how's it feel to lose some life points, huh?"

She raised her arm so he could see her points. "No idea, but gaining them is sort of a blast right? Numinous Healer is a wicked card." She remarked and all at once her destroyed petite dragon benefitted her as an angel in a white toga trimmed in gold shimmered into existence and gently blew a ball of fuzzy golden light over Sarah before fading away. This time he actually laughed out loud in amusement at the extremely clever play. Sarah had known from the start her petite dragon would eventually get knocked out and planned for that accordingly. He had no idea she had added that trap card to her deck and was impressed. Joey frowned as he saw her life points had shot up by another thousand points.

"What?" Joey shrieked.

Mokuba's jaw dropped and Yugi shook his head, looking as if he might have a headache. Tea appeared to see that the tide was turning rapidly in Sarah's favor. "Um, Joey, I would stop taunting her now."

"What?" Wheeler demanded a second time, his arms waving erratically. "What just happened?"

"Oh!" She said, waving her hand up, her confidence boosted. "I know!" Sarah was clearly having a great deal of fun. "When I'm about to take damage to my life points Numinous Healer increases them by a thousand points."

"No way." Tristan said, shocked. "Is that even legal, Yug?"

"I'm afraid so." Yugi agreed. "That… that was really clever."

She pulled another card as Joey crossed his arms, his face heating up. "It doesn't matter. There's no way she can stop my red eyes."

It appeared for the moment that was true, but Sarah wasn't bothered. "I'll play Al-Lumi'raj in defense mode, lay down two cards facedown, and end my turn."

An ethereal cat with a glowing white horn appeared on the field, and he knew it was one of the few non-dragon cards she had. Small lights twinkled around it prettily and it hissed when it saw Joey, it's white eyes gleaming in anger. Joey narrowed his eyes and glanced at her remaining facedown cards. Pulling another card he tossed it down. "I'll play Panther Warrior in attack mode." He told her, not willing to gamble his Red Eyes with all the face down cards she had. "And since that's more than enough to get your pretty kitty I think I'll have it attack. Slashing sword attack!" He called.

The armored cat raced forward and destroyed her Al-Lumi'raj, as soon as she exploded she yelled as she flipped her card. "Grave robber! Bring back Numinous Healer!"

"No!" Joey called as yet another thousand points were added to her already inflated score.

She smirked as she pulled another card. He knew she had drawn something good by the gleam in her eye. "Thanks for the boost. I'm kind of bummed I'm taking you out when you couldn't even take any of my life points, but what can you do?"

He pressed his lips together. "There's no way you can take out my red eyes."

She smiled and flipped another spell card. "I activate Change of Heart, which allows me to control one monster on your side of the field this round." Joey let out an absurd hiss, his eyes flying to his red eyes, but Sarah went for his other monster. "I'll choose your Panther Warrior!" A monster that was half angel and half demon appeared and floated forward, wrapping it's mismatched wings around the panther and taking it over. The warrior yowled and leapt to Sarah's side of the field, hissing at Joey's dragon as its allegiance was changed by the spell. Joey growled, clearly frustrated by her ever moving spell and trap chain she had kept up so successfully. "Then I'll sacrifice it to call my Tiger Dragon!" Joey's panther vanished and a large dragon with beautiful stripes and large, teal wings appeared with a roar. It was easily as big as the red eyes and the rarest card she had in her deck. She had been besotted with the card since he handed it to her the third night they were playing together. He was sure she had no idea how rare it was. There were only twenty in the world, but he never used it, so he had seen no reason not to let her have it.

"Sweet!" Mokuba called, craning his head up. "That's a great card, Sarah!"

"Cool or not, it's not the same number of attack points as my red eyes." Joey said. "It'll be a draw."

"But not so much when I use this." She replied, flipping over one of her last two spell card. "Forbidden Lance!" A golden spear erupted from the card and slammed into his dragon's chest. The dragon let out a roar of pain and Joey's eyes went wide. "Your dragon is down eight hundred attack points this round, but I'm not too worried. It won't make it another. Not without any trap or spell cards to protect you."

"Oh no." He groaned.

"Oh yes." She disagreed. "Tiger Dragon, use roaring fire attack on that dragon!" Her dragon roared in agreement and then threw a blast of teal fire at the red eyes. It let out a corresponding hiss and disintegrated, dropping Joey's points to two thousand.

"You can turn this around, Joey!" Tea encouraged. "You have time since her attack phase is over!"

"No, he really can't, and it really isn't." Sarah remarked, flipping over her last spell card. "I activate Double Attack! By sending one card in my hand to the graveyard I can have the monster on my side of the field with the lowest level attack twice. Since I only have one monster that means my Tiger Dragon can attack again. Roaring fire attack! Hit his life points directly!" A blast of blue fire hit Joey and his life points crashed to zero. Her dragon let out a roar of victory before both dueling bracelets flickered off after one bright flash of their points, which indicated Sarah was the clear winner with seven thousand-six hundred points to her name. Dead silence fell around the lobby at the crushing victory and then she grinned as Joey let out a vicious curse and slammed both his hands over his head in despair, ruffling his hair up crazily. "This is an amazing gaming system, Seto." She told him as she walked back over to him with genuine delight written all over her face. "That was super fun. Thanks for letting me try it."

He watched her with real approval, giddy at the humiliation she had brought down on the mutt, and Mokuba gave her a high five. "That was wicked!"

She smiled at his brother happily and his mind began to turn quickly. He hadn't anticipated she would do so well, even after playing with her and teaching her. And while it was true Wheeler had severely underestimated her, and overestimated himself, leading to her complete control of the match, he was sure even if he had been fully focused she would have been able to take him. Sarah clearly had a natural gift with dueling, which considering what she was he supposed shouldn't surprise him. In that moment he made a very dangerous gamble. They had put this on to draw the other millennium item holder out. The other man wanted her, possibly more than anyone else. Putting Sarah in the tournament would no doubt guarantee he would show up, although it put her in a very precarious position. He had promised himself he would keep her safe, that he wouldn't be reckless, but he could control this as long as he stayed close to her during this event. "What a spectacular way to start the tournament." He said. Sarah looked over in confusion and everyone turned their attention to him. "It seems Sarah is halfway to the semifinals." He saw Mokuba shoot him a sharp, meaningful glance as he spoke.

"Wait, what?" She protested as panic filled her face. "I just wanted to try it. And besides, you said only elite duelists were participating."

He smirked, happily rubbing Wheeler's defeat in his face. "And you just leveled a world ranked duelist with three monsters, and two of them were under a thousand attack points. I would say you have all the qualifications you need."

Joey was clenching his fists. "Are you telling me I'm already out, Kaiba?"

"Sadly no." He replied, refusing to break his own rules even if he wanted Wheeler gone. "Look at your dueling bands." Both Sarah and Joey looked down as Yugi, Tea, Bakura, and Tristan all leaned forward to see the mutt's. "In this tournament all the duels will be recorded on your band and broadcast out on the Kaiba Corp website. Each player starts with two marks, represented by a blue light on the side." Sarah twisted her wrist and saw that along one side, above her deck, were three lightly glowing blue circles instead of two. "This is a knockout tournament and every duel is worth a mark. Win and you get a mark, lose and one is given to your opponent. The first sixteen people that get six marks make it to the next round where things get more interesting. Lose them all, or don't get enough in time, and you're out."

Yugi spoke. "How many duelists are participating in this?"

"A hundred." He replied, his eye flicking to the side. "A hundred and one now that Sarah's proved she meets requirements for participation. Sarah was completely stricken, as if he had just put a warrant out for her so she could be deported. The top duelists in the world will all be in this city by tomorrow morning. Make it to the top eight and your prize is half a million dollars." Joey's head reared up. He hadn't made the prizes public yet. He had been waiting until tomorrow morning when everyone was here to stir up some excitement, but he could let that slide for the moment. "Make it to the top four and you get another million."

"And the winner?" Joey demanded.

"The winner walks away with an additional three million." He looked at Joey. "That's four and a half million, mutt, in case you needed help. I know math is difficult for you." Joey snarled and he went on. "On top of that they get the title of world champion, and a specially distributed card that was donated by Industrial Illusions." Pegasus had sent him the rare card three days after he began planning this with a ridiculous note attached to it asking how he, Sarah, and Mokuba had been doing, as if they were friends. It was enraging. He was sure whatever spies the madman had at Kaiba Corp had informed him of the tournament and he was intent on weaseling his company's name into it for the publicity. Despite his hatred of the other man he took the card and offered it up to the winner. Looking like all was well between their two giant companies would keep stock options up.

Yugi stepped forward and picked up a dueling band. Snapping it around his wrist he met his eyes. "Watch yourself, Kaiba." He said calmly. "At least I'll attack you from the front."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll see you in the finals."

Shaking his head Yugi walked off, taking his gang of friends with him. "Come on."

"But Yug, we didn't even-" Tristan protested.

"He's gotten his way." Motou stated. "There's no point in staying for him to gloat about it."

He narrowed his eyes at that, but they all walked out and he supposed that was good enough. Roland sent the other four security guards back to their posts around the building, two of them following the small band to be sure they got off Kaiba Corp property. Sarah kept her peace until they were alone, with the exception of Roland, who was clearly irritated that five young people had gotten this far without getting caught. He had moved to the front security desk and was looking through camera footage to see how they had managed that. "How exactly did I end up in this?" Sarah asked anxiously. "I just wanted to play one round to see the holograms. I can't keep up with world class duelists."

"You just did." He pointed out, amused and satisfied. He would need to be sure that video went up on the website in the morning. He was sure it was recorded on the disk. "That was well done."

"Really, Sarah, that was amazing." Mokuba agreed adamantly. "I mean, Joey isn't as good as Seto or Yugi, but he is an impressive duelist. You wiped the floor with him. That was nuts."

She shook her head, not agreeing with them. "I only won because he was being stupid and thought I was horrible before we started. No one is going to think that once the tournament starts, especially not with all the crazy qualifications the duelists needed to even make it here. I'll be out in about five minutes."

"I seriously doubt that." He replied with easy confidence.

"If I get stomped on you're going to hear me whine about it for the next three months."

"Is that a specific or average estimate?" He asked blandly. "I just want to prepare myself."

She huffed at him. "Seto, this is a stupid idea. I'm not a duelist. Why do you even want me in this? I can name four duelists in Domino alone that are participating that could knock me out, you included."

"I'm not going to duel you." He informed her seriously. "And you're right about Yugi at least, stay away from him."

She threw her hands up. "Your rules say no one can turn down a duel if they're challenged! What if he wants to duel me?" Sarah shook her head. "What if anyone wants to duel me? Which clearly, as this is a dueling tournament, they will."

As much as he disliked Yugi he knew him well enough to know he wouldn't bother Sarah. Despite the animosity they had come to a tentative, if unspoken agreement. He would stay out of Yugi's business and Motou would stay out of his. He had made it very clear that Sarah was his business and he knew Yugi would keep clear of her if only to avoid another fight with him. He really was far too much of a pacifist for his liking. "If you duel like you just did you have a excellent chance of making it to the semi-finals."

"He's right you know." Mokuba told her, although he caught his brother sending him another very pointed look. He doubted Mokuba wanted Sarah any closer to danger than she already was, but was holding his opinions to himself for the moment. "But I'd stay away from Rebecca and Mia too if I were you. At least for a few rounds while you get warmed up."

Sarah let out a heavy sigh of resignation as they both agreed on her being in this tournament despite her protests. For his part he began to organize his own movements for the next twelve hours so he was with her at all times. Once the tournament started he could reassess how best to go about getting his points as quickly as possible to move into the top sixteen. Once they were there it would be much easier to keep an eye on her as all the duelists would be in the same location. "Let's go back home." He suggested. "We can look through your deck and see if we can make it any better, although it looks like you've done a good job of it."

"I don't want to show you my deck." She pouted. "You always try to take away all my good cards."

His lips twitched as she picked her bag back up off the floor and tried to figure out how to fit her duel disk in it when it was clearly too large. "I'm trying to level your deck out. You have too many dragon type monsters."

She gave up on trying to bend physics for a moment and put her hands on her hips in a fully stubborn manner. "Look, if I'm going be in this thing then I'm going to do it the way I want to. There's nothing wrong with my monster cards, and I've finally gotten my trap and spell cards to match with them."

"We can alter those as well-"

"No." She stated firmly and Mokuba snickered.

"Have fun with this argument, Seto." His brother said, wandering toward the back. "I'm going to check on a few things. I'll meet you out front in ten minutes so we can leave."

He kept his attention on Sarah as Mokuba went into one of the elevators. "Sarah-"

"No, Seto." She turned on her heel. "But I will meet you at the mansion if you want. I'm going to go home and change clothes first though, and take a shower."

He sighed, thinking he was already letting her out of his sight, which was not part of the plan. "Bring clothes with you for tomorrow then."

"What do you wear for elite dueling tournaments?" She asked, although the questions wasn't really directed at him, more like the universe at large. She kept talking to no one as she headed toward the stairs that led to the garage, ignoring the elevators as it was only two flights down. "And is this considered personal time, or work since I'm being order to duel by my employer?" She opened the stairwell door. "I'm going to say work and just fight with HR about it after."

Shaking his head he knew very well he would be getting a letter from the head of human resources about this within the week. He should likely go ahead and send them an Email telling them to excuse her for the week before it turned into a nightmare of paperwork. Turning his head he called across the room. "Is the property clear of bumbling idiots?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." Roland replied, his face blank and he knew the other man had overheard his request for Sarah to bring clothes. He was sure them man knew what was going on between them now.

"Bring the car around then. I want to leave as soon as Mokuba is done with whatever it is he's doing."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." The man agreed, exiting the lobby at once. Left alone he stood gazing in at his inventions, neatly packaged and extravagantly arranged. Hours of obsession and work had led to their creation and he wondered, for just a moment, if that had been at all wise. All of this had been in motion for eons, and yet it seemed it was once again culminating as a result of his achievements. Shadow games had been going on for millennia, but certainly his inventions made it all that much easier. Shaking his head he pushed the thought away as useless. Sarah would have been targeted regardless, and he'd been targeted for years now by one crazed duelist after another. Both of them had been doomed to this the moment they were reborn here, there was no point in ruminating over his contributions to mad men. There would always be men like this, like Gozaburo, and they would always take advantage of any and all opportunities that were presented to them. Stepping forward he opened one of the boxes that had been placed in the back, where all the extras that didn't make up the large display were kept, and pulled out a duel disk before slipping it over his wrist. All he could do was stand in the way of men like this and stop them. It was all anyone could really do.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up. The holiday ran me over and I had zero time. Hope it was worth the wait :)


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Accrued Liabilities

He stood quietly on the observation deck surrounding the lobby, watching as the duelist began to gather outside Kaiba Corp. Below him in the large, open first floor that was meant to show the building off to great effect, Sarah and Mokuba were waiting off to the side for things to get started. Sarah was leaning casually against the far wall with her legs crossed below her, out of the line of sight of the doors, and thus the eyes of the other duelists. He knew she wasn't overly thrilled by the prospect of participating, as she felt she wouldn't do well by any stretch of the imagination, but seemed to be willing as he showed such an interest in having her be part of it. He doubted she would be so compliant if she knew what was at stake, and for the first time since their initially meeting in his office that first day when he threatened to be rid of her he felt self-reproach curl uncomfortably in his belly.

He had started to wonder if at this point it was a kindness to keep her past away from her, or if he was needlessly torturing her in his own way, despite his best intentions. It was one thing to say nothing when she couldn't remember, it was another when her memories appeared ready to bowl her over at any moment and she knew something was off. And he could tell she knew something wasn't right. She had a nightmare this morning, one that had her mumbling in Egyptian, although she insisted she didn't remember what it was about when he shook her awake. But he saw the lie as easily as he had seen all the others. She hadn't even been able to look at him when she said it, and he saw the unease resting inside of her. He'd also seen her studying him intently when she thought he didn't notice as he was getting dressed, as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of him, or as if she were afraid of something, although he didn't know precisely what that might be. He was cognizant enough about how unsettling it was to know something was wrong in that vague, unexplainable way she was experiencing. It made one feel insane and unbalanced.

He also doubted he was helping drive those ill-defined fears away. Shortly after he got home last night, a few minutes before she arrived, he had begun to feel an odd sort of tingling dancing down the back of his neck. He had glanced up, his tie in his hand as he had been changing into more comfortable clothes than a suit in his bedroom, and the feeling had intensified. The millennium rod had reacted to the magic as well, and all at once he realized that what he was feeling was the presence of magic nearby, at least relatively. Rolling his shoulders he went back to his task, aware that in all likelihood the millennium scale had entered the city. Having not expected that sort of forewarning he was unsettled when Sarah arrived, and distracted through most of dinner as he kept feeling little snaps of discomfort along his back. He was unsure if the magic was a result of the other man not knowing how to suppress it and hide himself, or if he was projecting it on purpose to try to get him to react in some sort of impulsive manner. Either way Sarah had noticed, but may have put it down to his mind being on the tournament if he hadn't nearly lost his head with her in bed.

No sooner did they lay down together than his past fears started mixing up with his present ones. A part of him, a large part, was terrified that they were doomed to repeat their past and this might well be the last time they had together. His memories of grieving for her, as well as years of loneliness and self imposed isolation after she was gone as the priest were throbbing in his chest with painful intensity. The playful, lust-filled, titillating atmosphere that had pervaded the last few nights they had together had been replaced. Feeling overwrought by emotions, which were blasting at him from all directions, he had been far and away too intense for her to think everything was fine. Sarah had responded to his silent entreaty for closeness at once, allowing him everything he wanted as he clutched her to him. In the aftermath, with him panting harshly as pleasure warred with fear, she had stroked his neck and back, as if she could see where he was being bothered, and nuzzled at his jaw comfortingly. She had whispered reassurances into his ear as he tried to catch his breath and asked him what was the matter. Instead of answering he had kissed her deeply as he cupped her face, trying to convey what he was feeling, and sank into her again. They hadn't slept much last night as he couldn't seem to get himself to leave her alone no matter what he was telling himself about resting and keeping her safe, but he had managed to distract her enough not to ask again.

Angry at himself for his lack of self-control he watched them both with unbridled affection as they interacted. Stretching her back slightly Sarah twisted her arm, trying to adjust to the duel disk on it as she spoke to Mokuba, who was leaning against the wall next to her. His brother was glancing about cautiously as he spoke to her, trying to appear calm, but the stiffness in his shoulders was giving him away. Mokuba had accepted his reasons for having Sarah in the tournament, but was no more comfortable with that than he was. Where he was trying to temper his terror of losing her down so he could think straight, Mokuba appeared to be trying to work out how best to help her make it through to the finals, where arguably she would be safer with both of them nearby at all times. Around them his employees were making last minute adjustments to the display as a camera crew set up to broadcast the start of the tournament. As he watched Sarah pulled her deck out of her pocket and showed his brother something in it when he made a motion toward it, either explaining something or asking his opinion on whatever they had been talking about. Mokuba was listening attentively and nodding, taking in whatever she was saying solemnly.

Had Mokuba been listening to anyone else with such rapt attention he had no doubt his jealousy would have shot sky high, but it was different with Sarah. Other than the obvious trust he had in her she also provided something to Mokuba that he simply couldn't, and he knew she had been for well over a year. Mokuba needed a strong female figure in his life. True, he could easily take care of his brother, had been doing so for years, but he certainly couldn't be a mother for all his protectiveness. Sarah appeared to have no trouble filling that role, or at least one very near it. She was kind, understanding, and affectionate where Mokuba needed it. There was something about a woman that calmed a man, no matter what age. His own mother had been much like Sarah. She had been funny, sharp witted, and quick to dole out praise and tender affection. Mokuba couldn't remember that of course, but he could. Nine years he'd had with his mother, nine good years, before the her illness had taken her away from him. It had been the start of the end of his childhood.

Despite the lingering anger he had over that, and the bitterness, he was pleased he had somehow been able to provide Mokuba this relationship. He wouldn't deny him a second role model that he considered to be one of the most competent people he'd ever met, not to mention the most loyal. As much as he coveted his brother's love and affection, as much as he hoarded it as well as his precious blue eyes, he recognized that he couldn't be everything to his brother and eventually Mokuba would start to truly resent him if he tried to keep him too close. On some level he knew their lingering arguments could easily lead to just that, and it was the last thing he wanted. He could be a great deal, could be the most important, but he couldn't be everything. He also recognized that emotionally, he wasn't… he struggled. Not with what he felt, because nothing meant more to him than his small family, but in how he showed it. Mokuba knew of course, but perhaps he needed a more open person, a more physically affectionate person, some of the time.

As he turned that over, watching them and trying to plan the best way to keep them safe in this tournament, which would no doubt be shifting about them chaotically by the moment, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning his head he saw Yugi waiting there for him to notice, his eyes locked on where he stood. He huffed, turning away from the balcony, trying to distract the man from the sight he appreciated far more than any grand work of art hung up in a museum. "Managed to sneak in again? I'm clearly throwing my money away on my security."

The other man raised an eyebrow, hardly put off by his sniping. "If you're done snarling like a rabid hyena?"

Thinking Yugi had gotten up on the wrong side of his generally overly optimistic and cheerful bed he smirked, pleased he had irritated him so quickly. "What do you want, Motou?" He asked, although he knew well enough why he was here. "I'm not in the mood for a friendship speech and I hardly need a pep talk. No one here can beat me, not this time, not without the god cards."

That rankled him, he saw it in his eyes, but Yugi held his temper. "We both know why." He stated. "And I know you sent Mokuba to talk to me, so there's no point in pretending otherwise."

"Mokuba sent himself." He informed him. "I was more than happy to let you all live in ignorance."

Yugi shook his head, frustrated with him, but not at all surprised. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, feigning disinterest.

Yugi didn't take the bait, simply got to the point. He supposed in some ways he respected that. "This isn't about your duel disk launch and it isn't about showing off, although you made it look that way." The other man was watching him intently. "I don't even really think it's about finding another millennium item. You don't care about collecting them. I don't even think you really want the one you have." He said nothing, only raised an eyebrow enigmatically, trying to get him to believe that was exactly what he wanted, although Motou was smarter than that. "Something happened. This person, the one with the scale, he did something to you. That's the reason behind all of this."

"And why would you think that?" He asked, his face expressionless.

"Because I know you." Yugi answered calmly. "And I felt the magic last night, and at your display with Keith. I know you had to have felt it too." Yugi sent him an annoyingly knowing look. "And you have the millennium rod with you now the same way you had it that night. I felt something happen after your duel, but it was over before I could get to you."

Irritated by that he said nothing, narrowing his eyes and thinking the last thing he wanted was Yugi's help. Ignoring the glare Motou stepped forward, next to him, and looked over the balcony. His metaphorical hackles went up as reddish purple eyes landed on Mokuba and Sarah with unsettling intensity. Sarah was frowning down at a card as Mokuba spoke, his hand on her shoulder. "For a man that doesn't believe in fate you certainly have embraced yours." He remarked. "Your dragon returned to you completely. You guard her as closely as you do Mokuba. The gods know you keep her as close to you as your deck." He tapped his fingers on his hip. "I thought you would have told her by now, who she is. You were thrown back in time with us, you know very well what I say is true even if you won't admit it. She would believe you now. She trusts you enough. What's stopping you?"

He refused to get near that subject with Yugi. He also refused to admit only minutes ago he was question that very decision. He had been forced to realize his past, and the results had driven him near to insane, although no one knew. For months after their trip back in time he had nightmares and visions so real that he felt as if he were still there. He had stopped sleeping and ate so little he had dropped enough weight for Mokuba to notice. He'd felt as if he were going crazy, and all the emotions from his past life had leaked into this one despite his ability to compartmentalize every other aspect of his existence. He had grieved for Kisara a second time, for the woman he had lost thousands of years ago as if it were a fresh wound. It had been traumatic, and no matter his concerns about her worry he didn't want to subject her to that. He was happy with her, more than happy just the way she was. It didn't matter to him if she couldn't remember any of it, in fact, he was relieved by it. Relieved that she simply accepted him right now as he was with no artificial feelings from another life swaying her decisions. He was truly accepted by few people and she was one of them. She'd said she loved him, and he knew she had meant it. He wouldn't ruin that, and knew Yugi would never understand what that meant to him, not when he had always been taken care of by someone. "My personal relationships are none of your concern."

"Maybe." Yami said, his eyes still on them. "But I think you're ignoring your fate in a dangerous way, and hers as well. Sarah died for you once. I think she would do it again."

"Is that a threat?" He snarled, his metaphorical hackles raising at once.

Yugi looked up at him, his eyes full of compassion. "You know I would never hurt her." The other man told him, and truthfully even he couldn't imagine that. For all the things he could say about Yugi he couldn't deny that he had a kind and generous soul, although he always let that go too far and got himself in over his head. "I want to help you. I want to help both of you if you would just let me. As much as you deny it we both know she ended up here for a reason. She ended up with you for a reason. Her death the first time caused you nearly irreparable harm even after your reincarnation three thousand years later. If she dies again I'm afraid of what you might do."

"Nothing is going to happen to her." He replied sharply. "I've made sure of that."

Yugi nodded slowly. "You certainly taught her to duel." He smirked at the reminder, still reveling in her triumph despite everything. "I think it was a bit mean spirited to have uploaded that video of it. It makes Joey look bad."

"Wheeler makes himself look bad." He told him, his satisfaction in proving it palpable. "The rules clearly state all duels will be broadcast. It's hardly my fault he can't read."

Yugi glared at him. "You go out of your way to make him look like a fool."

"I haven't seen Wheeler in months, and I assure you I would never go out of my way for him." He pointed out, thinking Motou needed to get a grip. "And you should really get it in that head of yours that he _is_ a fool. I never understood why you let him ride on your coattails."

"He's my friend." Yugi told him, staunchly standing by the mutt. He opened his mouth to say something and then a thought occurred to him all at once. Despite his intense interest in all things relating to the group of insipid idiots that followed him around Yugi had always had an irritating loyalty to Wheeler, one that Atem constantly appeared to support. Really, he hadn't understood it as Joey could never keep up with him when it came to dueling, he would never come close no matter how much he was coached. But regardless of how many times he did something stupid, or got them all in a mess with his impulsive idiocy Yugi still stood up for him. He couldn't imagine dealing with that, with all the ridiculous baggage Wheeler carried around with him, but then there were reasons for everything. He had certainly done things in the last two years he had never imagined himself doing for another person, for all Sarah was far from an idiot the way the dog was. He stared at Motou hard for several seconds as his mind ticked things over in the meticulous and thorough way it did, and tellingly the other man briefly broke eye contact with him. He shook his head, his sudden suspicions confirmed, thinking, not for the first time, that Yugi had simply terrible taste in people. "What?" Motou demanded defensively at his silence.

The sudden snap of cruelty that he had been directing at Yugi, one that was constantly waiting to lash out, retreated before he could open his mouth. To his surprise, and no doubt Motou's, he came very close to making a civil comment. "I would take Téa up on her offer." He advised, his voice and thoughts devoid of judgement, and his tone calm. "You won't find what you're after with him."

Yugi looked away sharply. "My personal relationships aren't your business either." He raised an eyebrow at the nasty tone, which confirmed very clearly that he was correct about the nature of Yugi's feelings.

Despite everything a small pulse of empathy managed to wiggle it's way through him. The gods knew what he had gone through before he managed to get Sarah beside him, and the near anguish he had dealt with every day he hadn't had her. "He won't leave Valentine." He told Yugi, wondering how the hell they had gotten on this topic, or why he even cared. "Although I find it likely she'll leave him at some point." He shrugged. "Even so you can do better than Wheeler."

"You don't know him." Yugi replied, although it was apparent he didn't disagree with his statement about Joey and Mia's relationship. "You never gave him a chance. He's a good person."

"That's in love with someone else." He pointed out. "Although in the end I suppose Téa is as well. She liked the darker side Atem had."

Yugi pressed his lips together tightly, having worked that out himself. "You think I don't know all of that?"

"I'm sure you do." He replied neutrally.

Yugi's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm sure this made your day."

Had Yugi said that to him only a year ago it would have been true. He would have delighted in the other man's misery for all the irritation he had brought him, all the grief, and all the digging through his past, which he had no business knowing about. He could truly say that he had hated Yugi for a long time. Oh, he had respected him, but he had also hated him, deeply. And while he still wanted to defeat him, to prove that he was in fact the better duelist, he found that the taste of bitterness wasn't quiet as strong as it used to be, even if he was sure he would never really like him. "This man pulled them into a shadow game." He said abruptly, turing back toward the lobby.

Yugi looked over sharply at the information. "What?"

"He drugged Sarah and lured her into the shadow realm when she was disoriented." Yugi was listening intently, taking this as the peace offering he meant it to be. At least he never needed to explain himself with Motou. "Mokuba went after her while I was facing Keith. They dueled."

"Mokuba won then?"

He wasn't sure that was what he would term it. "The duel… ended before either of them lost all their life points." Yugi frowned in confusion, but he didn't elaborate on the statement. "If I'd gotten there any later than I did I'm not sure what would have happened. Mokuba was nearly catatonic from all the energy it took and Sarah barely lived, although she doesn't remember what happened." He felt his rage bubbling back up at the very thought.

"What did he want from Sarah?" Yugi asked.

"What do you think he wanted?" He demanded, thinking that was a stupid question. "He knows who and what she is, although how I have no idea." Yugi let out a soft sound of understanding from the back of his throat, although he wasn't fully sure if he did understand what had actually happened, for all he had nearly spelled it out. "He made a mistake attacking them." He informed the other man. "One I intend to be sure he pays for dearly."

Yugi watched him for several long moments before nodding slowly. "Let me help you, Kaiba. I know we've had our differences, we still do, but he's after what I care about too." Yugi's eyes strayed to the doors. "We have a better chance together."

He shook his head, hating accepting help from anyone, but especially Yugi. Still, the strategist in him saw the advantages. While it was true Yugi's magic was all but gone, he did still have some, the residues of it lingering about the puzzle like an odd smell. And he was a good duelist, the best save for himself, and he could use that. "Do what you want, Yugi." He told him, figuring that no matter what he said Motou would stick his nose in the way he always did. "But know that if it comes down to you or your nerd herd and them, I'll pick them every time."

Yugi sighed again, upset he wasn't eager to embrace the prospect. "I suppose that's more than I honestly expected." He replied. "Be careful, Kaiba." That said he turned and headed back toward the stairs, going toward the lobby to wait.

Giving him a few moments to get out of the way he eventually stepped up to a section he could be seen from and put one hand on his hip, more than ready to start this. "Open the doors." He ordered, his voice carrying down to his staff. People sprang to their places at the order and he saw the cameras turn on. Sarah and Mokuba both looked up toward him as Yugi eased his way onto the floor and ensconced himself near a different wall. Within seconds of his demands the doors to his company were thrown open and duelists began to pour in, many of which he recognized, or had personally defeated in the past. There were a few faces he couldn't identify, but he wasn't overly concerned. Behind them he saw the flashes of cameras going off and knew there were news crews from all over also waiting for this to get started. As the room filled up he smirked, his eyes gliding over the competition as excitement tingled up his spine. While this was certainly set up for a dangerous purpose he couldn't deny that he enjoyed dueling, and at least here he would have some sort of challenge presented to him. Really, it got boring after awhile, knowing that so few people could even hope to stand against him.

The noise in the building increased noticeably and he spotted Sarah and Mokuba trying to blend into the background as best they could. The went largely unnoticed as people streamed in, as they were out of the way for the moment. Within minutes the place was full and he spoke, drawing everyone's attention up to him easily, although he had already been spotted by a few of them as he stood in a prime spot above them to dictate his expectations. "Welcome to the second round of Battle City. I'm so pleased to see a few of you are still foolish enough to think you can beat me." A varying degree of responses to that occurred simultaneously and his smirk grew as he spotted Joey flipping him off in the crowd. "I hope you're ready for the most grueling tournament of your lives. Only fifteen of you are going to make it to the finals with me, so I suggest you listen to the rules, because I won't be repeating them." Cat calls went up and he lifted his arm to show off his newest product. "My new duel disk system is state of the art. All the duels are going to be broadcast from them, so I suggest you put on a good show as doubtless every sponsor in the world will be watching. This tournament is for world ranking as well as a hefty monetary prize, so don't think your competition is going to go easy on you. And by the way, no one can turn down a challenge without being disqualified."

Duelists began to eye one another, hungry to win and to figure out who to go after first. He went on as no doubt countless strategies began to be formulated below him. "The original Battle City rules for summoning and transfusion monsters are the same, but your anti isn't. You won't be putting a monster up this time, but two thirds of your deck. Once someone beats you they have the option of taking any spell or trap card you own as a personal prize, winners choice." Uneasy murmurs went up at that, as the only thing in the rule book about that was that an entry fee would be discussed at the opening. He had thought it would be a bit more fun to announce it this way, and he hadn't been wrong. "Or…" Attention returned to him. "If you're too much of a coward to let a card go you can always give up an additional entry mark in place of a card, but keep in mind only the first sixteen duelists with six marks move on. Once we get to the finals you will be giving up a card if you lose, so think carefully before you make your choice."

Waves of anticipation were starting to ripple around. He let it build for a few moments, watching the duelists below him with a critical eye. "Finals start in two days, so use your time wisely. All the duel disks will be activated two hours from now, which should give you more than enough time to organize yourselves in whatever way you want. Any public part of the city has been opened for you to use. I would think carefully about where you go, because some places are going to benefit you more than others." He let that hint sit and saw duelist sharing glances. "One more thing." His eyes landed directly on Joey. "As one duelist insisted we start a bit early last night I didn't get a chance to go over all the requirements for entry." The mutt rolled his eyes, clearly seeing where this was going, and aware, for once, of what was being suggested. "So, Wheeler, you appear to owe another duelist something. What's it going to be?" Sarah's eyes had gone wide as he pulled her fully into the spotlight. He needed to be sure the holder of the millennium scale saw she was here, and to be perfectly fair she did get a card or an additional mark as part of her win. It really only added icing to the cake that he could further taunt the mutt. He did note that Mokuba had vanished at some point, and was no longer in the room. However, he had been insistent he help Noah track the duelists and assumed he had exited to get to the control center almost as soon as people started coming in. "One of your cards? Or would you like to give up now while you have the chance? I'm sure she'd take your last mark from you if you prefer the easier option."

"Shove it, rich boy." Joey called up, crossing his arms and trying to appear calm. "I'll give her a card. I'm no cheat, and I'm no quitter." Brown eyes met his. "And we're going to settle this in the finals." His smirk only grew as he made a pointed motion toward Sarah. Sending him another glare Joey walked though the crowd toward her, the duelists shifting out of his way, and pulled his deck from the duel disk. Without hesitation he held it out to Sarah. "Take your pick then."

Clearly startled, Sarah took his deck, more out of surprise than anything, and looked up at him with wide eyes. He shrugged and she shook her head, quickly looking through the cards. She picked quickly, but if it was because she found something she really wanted, or was trying to save Joey some amount of dignity he wasn't sure. She handed the mutt his cards back. "Thank you." He saw her mouth sincerely to him. Some of the stiffness left Wheeler's shoulders and he made a casual gesture of acceptance, somehow pulling a graceful defeat out of thin air.

As Sarah tucked the card away he wrapped this up. "I'll see you all in a few hours." His eyes glittered. "Well, some of you at any rate. Most of you won't last the day." That said he turned sharply, his white trench coat snapping around him as he exited. As he vanished from sight he heard the commotion start up again and was pleased with how that had gone as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and texted Mokuba. He was eager to know if any matches had appeared on the security footage.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Having won his first duel with relative ease, he headed back to the control center where Mokuba was monitoring everything, distracted from finding another opponent until he could check on Sarah. Despite his plan to stay near her she had chased him off before the duels could even start. She had insisted that it wouldn't be fair to have him helping her, and while he had no intention of doing so unless it turned into a shadow duel she appeared to think that it was his intention to carry her through the first round, which did not sit well with her at all. Insisting that she wanted to win or lose by herself he saw very few options available to him without it looking terribly suspicious. He had agreed with a shrug and she had been pleased, kissing him warmly as they stood in his office as the count down for the start of the tournament began. Having never kissed her, or shown any sort of physical affection at the office he was caught a little off guard, but quickly returned the kiss figuring there was no harm as his office door was closed. Pulling her close against him he had run his hand over her hair gently as he tucked her head under his chin, showing her more gentle attention in that moment than he could ever recall showing anyone. Sarah had cooed at that, cuddling close as she took advantage of the affection, something he rarely shared with even her except in the aftermath of their lovemaking. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to, but he had found it was difficult for him despite how easily she responded to him. The idea that he might be afraid of rejection bothered him, if only because he viewed it as a weakness in many ways, and he disliked admitting to weakness in himself. As they stood there though, he thought perhaps he should do this more often as he felt some of his stress leaving him as her body heat and scent soothed him.

When she finally rocked back on her heels she smiled up at him and teased him gently about having fun before she left to scope out the competition, kissing him one more time before her escape. He gave her a one minute head start before following her out of Kiaba Corp and trailed her, keeping her in sight as she wandered about aimlessly. He didn't really understand how her mind worked sometimes, because she had led him on more than one rambling, destination-less walk since they started dating, and really even before that when they occasionally met somewhere in town. Apparently she simply enjoyed novelty, that was his best guess, and would go toward whatever caught her eye at any given moment, be that a shop window, a street performance, or a poster that had been hung up that she wanted to read. So needless to say, he had no idea what she was heading toward and strongly doubted she did either.

The real problem wasn't going unnoticed by her, it was avoiding the other duelists, some of whom were looking for him specifically for any number of reasons. He had been accosted within minutes of all the duel disks activating, and had lost track of her as he was forced to stop and address one of them. He wouldn't have bothered to duel the upstart to begin with, but the young teen had boldly run up to him, boasting to his flock of vapid admirers that he was going to take him out. Since he was obligated to accept any challenge he activated his duel band with a sigh of irritation at the hold up. Still, the duel had lasted less than seven minutes, and he supposed it at least got him a third mark quickly enough. It would have taken less time to defeat the kid, but the teen had panicked and it took him too long to make a choice with his cards the last round. The duel, no matter how short, gave Sarah plenty of time to meander away, and with no direction or destination he had no idea which way to go to even attempt to find her. He had snatched a card from the other duelist quickly, barely looking at it as he really didn't need to improve his deck, and left without a word.

The elevator doors opened and he walked into the spacious, air conditioned control room. Large monitors showing duels that were going on throughout the city covered the walls and there were three dozen computer technicians and dueling specialists watching what was going on, checking for cheaters and being sure all the duel disks were responding appropriately. Pleased with how well his second tournament had started he spotted his brother at the main control station on the east side of the room went to him, pulling a chair out and sitting beside him. Mokuba was sitting in front of a monitor at the station watching it run some sort of analysis intently. "Your first duel didn't last long."

He leaned back casually. "I would have been ashamed if it had. I would ask how someone that bad got in the tournament, but I don't really care."

Mokuba shrugged, his usual carefree persona gone. It was odd and unsettling to see his brother looking so serious. "He was ranked third in China if it makes any difference to you. You'll get more of a challenge soon though. Sixteen of the duelist here have already been knocked out. A few of them gave up a second mark instead of a card which eliminated them, and a couple others just got run over by better duelists."

"That matches our projections." He remarked, having anticipated that the lowest of them would be gone within five hours, and the bottom half would be eliminated no later than this evening. Tomorrow it would get nasty, and the duels would become much more vicious as only the top forty or fifty duelist remained.

Mokuba nodded distractedly as he started typing a command into the program, his attention mostly on that. "Some of your statistics have been rather badly skewed."

He frowned. "What?"

Mokuba reached over without looking and grabbed a remote. Clicking it had one of the large monitors closest to them switching information. It had been showing a duel between Valentine and Weevil Underwood, but was replaced by an active list of duelists and how many marks they had acquired. About half still had two, meaning they hadn't battled, or had lost and won at least once to break even. Joey Wheeler was among them, much to his disappointment. Above those sixteen or so were another fourteen with three marks, including himself, Yugi, Mia Valentine, and several other ranked duelists from around the world, including Mokuba's friend Rebecca Hawkins. Above them was a single duelist. Sarah was currently the only one of them that had four marks, which meant a few of those duelists that had managed to grab an extra mark had already been knocked back to three again. He raised an eyebrow at the information, but wasn't overly surprised, especially with her head start from Wheeler. "Sarah's in the lead?"

Mokuba's nodded as a map of the world appeared on his computer screen and a line started zipping about it. "Rebecca texted me an hour ago. She said Sarah wiped the floor with Mako Tsunami."

That did surprise him. He would have guessed she had been challenged by a much weaker duelist. "She beat Mako?" He asked, impressed.

"No, she crushed him." Mokuba corrected. "She took him out as faster than Joey." He handed him his phone, which had been sitting on the table between them. "Rebecca sent me a video if you want to watch it, or I can pull it up."

He did, but let the large screens keep an eye on current duels. Opening the file he watched the three minute duel on Mokuba's phone. Sarah truly had crushed him, and Mako was no pushover. He admitted he was impressed. Grunting, he handed the phone back. "I can see how this ruined my probabilities."

Mokuba sent him a sideways look, a single flash of amusement momentarily replacing the solemn expression. "Admit you're impressed with my ability to spot potential."

"Potential, an easy target for when you were bored, whichever." He agreed with friendly sarcasm as Mokuba chuckled. He turned the conversation to more important matters. "Have you found anything?"

Mokuba appeared grim, his humor vanishing like smoke on the wind. "Yes, but I'm not sure it's what I was actually after."

He didn't like the sound of that. "Explain."

Mokuba hit the control for the monitor closest to them again and the screen flashed. "We have three people participating that weren't part of the original hundred, including Sarah."

"What?" He snapped.

"About fifteen minutes ago this video came in from Hillside Park." Watching the screen he saw that Bandit Keith had showed up, he figured he had put on a good enough duel to be allowed participation since he lasted more than five rounds with him, ready to rip someone's head off. Momentarily confused at who could cause such a reaction he caught up quickly when the camera panned and his least favorite person appeared on the screen. Dressed as flamboyantly as ever Pegasus was merrily taunting the other duelist, who had a homicidal grudge against him for the last half a decade. He clenched his jaw hard at the appearance of the madman he had been very clear was not to get near him, or anyone he loved ever again. "Guess who won?" Mokuba muttered angrily.

"How did he get a duel disk?" He demanded, outraged.

"My best guess is that it was stolen." Mokuba told him. "Just like the five others that are missing from the manifest.

"What?" He snarled.

Mokuba shook his head. "We made twenty extra duel disks just in case of some sort of catastrophe or wide spread malfunction." His brother reminded him, as if he didn't know that. "Somehow between the production lab and the vault two stories up five of them vanished. I have Noah and Roland looking into it, but so far neither have worked out how they went missing, who took them, or how none of the alarms went off when they were leaving the facility."

"Where's Pegasus now? And who else has one?"

"I don't know who else has one." Mokuba told him. "I only know that of the five missing two have been activated. Whoever the other person is they haven't dueled yet. As for Pegasus I don't know where he is. He hacked into your system and turned off the tracking program you installed. Why he left the camera function on I couldn't say. He had to know it was there."

"He wanted me to know he's here." He told him, enraged by so many things right now, the least of which was that Pegasus worked out how to get through his coding, which had been excellent. "And he knew it was pointless to turn off the camera if the other duelist has one."

His brother reached up and rubbed at his eyes. "We have another problem, Seto."

His attention refocused on Mokuba. "The other person with a duel disk will have to show up soon if they want to try for the finals. If it's a Kaiba Corp competitor we can sue them for everything if they try to model any part of it for themselves. Everything on the disk from the design to the coding is copyrighted."

"That's not…" Mokuba shook his head and turned his computer toward him. "I tried hacking back into the duel disk Pegasus stole as soon as I found out he turned off the tracker."

"And?" He leaned forward to see what Mokuba was doing on his computer.

"And I hit this wall." Mokuba told him, clicking to another tab. As soon as it came on he narrowed his eyes and his brother turned the sound back on. The stupid pink rabbit cartoon the madman was so obsessed with began to chant happily as it ricocheted across the screen.

"Hello, Kaiba, hello, Kaiba, hello, Kaiba." It giggled inanely in the dopey tone of all old cartoon characters. He felt his jaw tick at the irritating cheer. This was Pegasus' favorite firewall.

"Turn it off."

"Wait." Mokuba instructed. "Watch what happens."

Frowning, his eyes turned back to the screen as Mokuba crossed his arms and pressed his lips together. After about thirty seconds of the same pink rabbit suddenly reached across the screen, it's arm comically elongating, and grabbed something he couldn't see. A moment later it dragged a blue eyes toon dragon out, a representation of his blue eyes that made him physically ill, and began to dance and bounce around with it as the chant changed. "It's not what you think, it's not what you think, it's not what you think."

He narrowed his eyes and Mokuba turned the sound back off. "Does he know what she is?" His brother asked quietly.

"Yes." He agreed. "The millennium eye showed him everything after he got it."

"We need to stop him before he gets her." Mokuba hissed.

Reaching into his coat he pulled his phone out and texted Sarah quickly even as his mind turned this over. When he was done he held the phone and spoke. "Keep watching everything and tell me if any of the stolen duel disks turn back on. I'm not entirely sure he's the one we're looking for."

"Are you serious?" Mokuba asked, flabbergasted, although he was keeping his voice low. "He's already kidnapped her once and he's stolen a duel disk! He's had another millennium item!"

"Why didn't he try to take her soul at the conference?" He countered. "He had the chance. And why let us know he's here at all?"

"Because he's insane!"

He agreed, but something about this felt wrong. "Pegasus was better at shadow magic then anyone." He pointed out. "He could control dimensional bubbles like it was a child's game. The person that you dueled didn't even seem to know he'd left a way into the shadow realm open. Pegasus is not that careless, and he's obsessed with those damn toons of his. You told me the man you dueled had fiend cards."

"There's no reason he couldn't have had a different deck to duel me." Mokuba argued. "He makes duel monster cards. He has access to literally all of them."

"Maybe." He agreed after a moment, but what had happened wasn't really Pegasus' style. Breaking into his vault, stealing his new duel disk, and participating in his tournament just to irritate him was though. "But keep watching everywhere."

Mokuba was not at all convinced as his phone went off. Looking down he saw Sarah had responded to him "For now everything is progressing well enough. I didn't think he would take the bait this soon." He told his brother. "I'm going to go meet Sarah for lunch." He shook his head. "I'll try to stay with her for the rest of the day."

"Seto, you really need to tell her she's in danger." Mokuba told him. "She's going to get snuck up on."

"I'll keep her safe." He told him, standing up. "I'll bring her back with me in a few hours. Call me if anything interesting happens."

"At a giant tournament with nearly every crazy person we've ever met?" Mokuba asked. "What could possibly happen?"

"Cute." He replied as he walked off, texting Sarah to see where she wanted to meet.

An hour later and Sarah was sipping happily at an ice water as he lounged in his chair. They had opted to eat outside at a small cafe she had stumbled over after her duel with Mako. The food had been good and the location pleasant enough he supposed. They were at the side of a square and had watched a duel about halfway through the meal. Sarah had been amused with it, and he supposed at least the two duelists had been evenly matched. He found he was very relaxed all at once, having enjoyed doing nothing else but eating and being entertained as they shared one another's company. He felt very normal and very at ease with her, in a way that he hadn't with another person. They had been growing increasingly close over the last few months and it seemed less odd than he thought it should have sharing space with her when, up until he met her, he had actively avoided staying near people. True, his brother was an exception, but even before his parents had passed he hadn't been very interested in making friends or playing with other children. It had always been easier by himself.

He knew too what it must look like to other people, and wasn't bothering to hide the relationship at this point. They acted more like a couple than they didn't, and the increasing familiarity and closeness they developed since she moved here hardly helped. Right now in fact, he knew they looked like any other well established pair on a casual date. Turning that over in his head he decided he liked the idea, for himself rather than what anyone else thought, because he had rarely cared for other's opinions on personal matters. As he allowed his mind to wander about Sarah set her mostly empty glass down and leaned forward, smiling at him flirtatiously. "Did you win a duel yet?" He lifted his wrist casually, showing her the third mark he had obtained. Her eyes sparkled. "I knew you must have. Was it a good duel?"

"Not especially." He told her. "It was over quickly enough."

She propped her cheek on the heel of her hand. "I was kind of hoping for a play by play or something. Maybe, you know, an overview."

His lips twitched up at her actually prompting him to boast. "If I thought it was an interesting duel I would tell you. It didn't last long. The kid had no idea what he was doing."

"Oh." She wrinkled her nose, disappointed for him. "That's no fun for you. I thought maybe you would have challenged someone who was really good."

"The competition will be better tomorrow." He assured her. "Most of the low level duelists are out. I would imagine only the top seventy are left now. There'll be even less by dinner."

She scoffed. "That can't be right."

"You're currently in first place." He informed her as he picked up his own drink and took a sip. Her face was priceless. He smirked at the look of dumbfounded disbelief.

"You're a horrible liar." She informed him as she shook herself.

"I'm not lying." He told her. "When I left Kaiba Corp an hour ago you were the only one with four marks. I suppose someone else could have gotten there since then, but you were ahead." She blinked. "I'm impressed you beat Mako. It was a good duel."

"You are?" She asked, confused. "He wasn't very good."

"He's ranked tenth in the world."

Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "What?" She asked faintly.

His smirk grew. "Joey, mutt that he is, is ranked fifth. Or they were I suppose. You've upset them both now."

"That-that can't be right." She protested.

"It is." He assured her, bemused she was flustered. Sarah was fun for him to tease. This was all so very pleasant and all at once feeling as if he had to explain this encounter away if anyone asked was abhorrent to him. "I don't like hiding this." He said abruptly. Sarah turned her attention to him, her eyes showing a wary kind of disbelief, and he went on, telling her what he wanted. "I'd prefer we were open about it."

He saw the nervousness in her. "I'd like that, but everyone at work…" She fidgeted with her napkin. "You have to know what it's going to look like. And I'm not at all ashamed or embarrassed, but I want to be able to do my job right, and if everyone thinks I'm only here because we're sleeping together…" She shook her head a little.

"You're completely competent in every way." He pointed out. "The people you usually work with know that. And it's not as if it can be viewed as a way for you to get a promotion. There's nowhere for you to go as you're the only person in your department. Everyone else will either work that out too or they can leave."

"You mean you'll fire them?" She asked, clearly unsettled. "That's not fair, Seto. People are allowed to think what they want even if it's not complimentary to me."

"I hardly care what they think, but if they won't work with you then they clearly can't do their jobs and can go elsewhere." He shrugged. "It's going to get out, Sarah. I'd rather be the one to be in control of when and where it happens."

She nodded slowly. "You're right." She agreed. "I honestly keep waiting for it to show up in the paper one morning." Looking up at him she gave him a small, nervous sort of smile. "What a weird thing to worry about. I don't suppose there's any chance you might consider a career change? I always imagined myself with a penniless teacher, or maybe a college professor."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess." She shrugged. "Not that I ever thought about it all that much, but I figured that would be nice in a hypothetical kind of way." Her eyes glittered with amusement. "Not that there's anything wrong with being a business mogul I suppose."

He huffed out a laugh and picked up his drink. "My father was a professor." He told her, shocking himself by sharing that. Other than answering her question about their looks and parentage, he had never said anything about his parents. He had certainly not brought the subject up himself. He wasn't sure why he was bringing it up now, other than it felt like a natural progression in the conversation.

"Was he really?" She asked with interest, and he relaxed a little with the way she questioned him, as if this were no different than any other subject they talked about. "What did he teach?"

"Mathematics." He told her. "He had a doctorate in mathematical analysis. He used to take us to his lectures after my mother passed away, although I'm sure Mokuba can't remember that at all. He never did quite manage to work out how to find us a babysitter." He shook his head a little at the memory. "Maybe he just liked having us there."

"That sounds pretty boring." Sarah said.

"He was a fairly good lecturer." He told her. "It was certainly more interesting than school."

Sarah eyed him for a moment. "You understood the math didn't you?"

"Most of it, yes." He agreed easily.

She shook her head ruefully, as if she should have known better than to ask. "What did your mother do?"

"She stayed at home with us." He told her. "But she would fix computers on the side, and occasionally contract out to set up computer networks for companies. That was when the internet first started getting big."

"I suppose all of that explains your brain." She said cheerfully.

He rolled his eyes. "What did your parents do?"

"Nothing as impressive." She assured him. "My father owned this little hardware store in town that my grandfather had opened when he was in his twenties. It was maybe twice the size of my apartment. My mom worked at the library and tutored local kids through French class every now and then." He thought that all sounded very peaceful and very normal, the way his life had been when he was young as well. "I doubt either of them would believe what I'm doing now."

"Translating?" He asked. "You've always been good with languages."

"I meant translating at one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world, on the other side of the planet. Neither of them ever lived anywhere else. I'm sure they would have been shocked."

"I imagine that would have been a surprise." He agreed. "But I'm sure they would have been happy with how well you've done for yourself."

Sarah shrugged and changed the subject easily. "So, anything interesting happen yet? Other than my odd placement at the moment?"

He rolled his shoulders. "You could say that." Sarah frowned and he went on. "Five duel disks have been stolen from Kaiba Corp."

"What?" She asked, shocked. "How?"

"I don't know." He told her. "But I know who took at least one of them."

"Oh, good." She calmed slightly, understanding how that could affect things easily. "Are the police-"

"I haven't called them." He interrupted. "At the moment I'm going to let him compete."

Her eyebrows popped up. "Really?" She asked. "Who is it? They must be good if you let them cheat their way in, not to mention steal from you."

"Pegasus." He told her, his voice devoid of emotion.

Silence fell between them for several long seconds. Sarah was staring at him blankly, although he knew something was going on behind her eyes. She had to have some sort of opinion about this. "Pegasus is in Domino?" She asked at last, wariness in her eyes.

"He's already beaten Bandit Keith." He told her.

Sarah's face suddenly filled with a strange combination of wariness, guilt, and trepidation. He frowned at the reaction as she drew into herself, her shoulders hunching up, looking as if he was going to smack her. He was fully unsettled and disgusted by the reaction, even as he wondered what the hell she was about to say. "Seto, I really need to tell you something-"

"I challenge you!" Someone barked right in front of the table, causing Sarah to jump badly and stop what she was saying. Turning, he glowered, wondering who was stupid enough to interrupt him in the middle of a conversation and more than ready to blast them into the losers pit along with everyone else. This was clearly not a good time.

Author's Note: Sorry for how long this took. I'm not sure the next chapter will be any faster between the holidays and the excessive snowfall, which has me out shoveling for hours on end. (At least I will have amazing triceps!) I hope everyone has a great holiday! Cheers!


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Transparency

On the verge of telling Seto what she had been avoiding for months now, she was badly startled when a finger was suddenly shoved right over her shoulder past her face, clipping the tip of her ear, especially when her anxiety was up so high already. She had been wondering how to broach this subject for weeks now, and admitted that the longer she waited the worse his reaction was going to be to the news that she owned part of his company. Her guilt over that had been steadily growing, along with her fear of what his reaction would be, although she knew she couldn't reasonably take credit for the issue herself. What she did see as her fault, because it was her fault, was not telling Seto about it, which she knew very well she should have the moment that stupid envelope ended up in her apartment. Oh, he would have been furious she knew, but probably would have gotten over it fairly quickly had she been totally upfront about it from the start, especially since it was Pegasus who had given it to her. Now, well, she was simply lying about it and there was no way around that, but the longer she waited the harder it seemed to be to bring up. Seto had been good to her, far better than she deserved, and she was currently repaying that with dishonesty, which was fully detestable. It was only worse, in her mind, now that they were sleeping together and had entered into a relationship, and they really shouldn't have secrets between them. Certainly not secrets of this magnitude. It just wasn't how things were supposed to be.

She was starting to think the guilt of it was what was making her have such horrible dreams, or the very real fear she had that he would leave her over this, although that didn't seem fully right either. The dreams were too real, and the odd incidents she had been trying to write off were now too frequent to deny that she was either actually going crazy, which Mokuba had somewhat alleviated with his assertion that the shadows were real, or something else was going on. But pushing her unease about that away she had decided to tell him once the tournament was over the day after her birthday, only waiting longer because she was concerned it would throw him off his game. The last thing she wanted was to somehow destroy his focus after all the work he put into it. However, if Pegasus was here there was no way for her to predict if he was going to use that very information against her, or to eliminate Seto's control over himself at an inopportune time. The president of Industrial Illusions might have advised her to keep this to herself, to hide it from Seto, but that could have been so he could spring it on him and watch him self-destruct. She knew, no matter how badly he reacted, that hearing this from her would be a thousand times better than hearing it from Pegasus. Realizing she may have fallen into a trap he set she was feeling even more foolish about the entire thing. So when Seto told her he was in the city she saw no way around it anymore, not without making it even worse than it already would be.

Gearing herself up for the worst she was about to confess to everything when they were interrupted. She was so startled that her normal control over herself had no time to kick in. She cringed to the right, away from the appendage, fully expecting to be hit at the sudden appearance of a hand before her eyes, and knocked her glass over, sending water all over the table and splashing toward Seto. Navy eyes flashed in rage as he moved away from the water before it got on him, standing up abruptly, his chair scraping against the cement at the swift shove, even as he grabbed the foreign hand and yanked it away from her. Seto was glaring daggers at a short man as he shoved him away from her and the table. She didn't recognize him, but he was obviously a duelist as he had one of the duel disks on. About as tall as Yugi, or no more than a few inches taller, the man had on an odd looking fringed vest, matching pants, and a red beanie. His hair was brown with a strangely placed, dusty purple streak near the front, which matched nothing he wore and only stood out as awkward in her mind. "Go away." Seto snapped harshly. "I'm clearly busy."

The man sent him a look of irritation, not really bothered by being shoved away. "I'm challenging you." He growled as he shoved his finger toward her again, although he was actually pointing at Seto at a rather odd angle. She leaned back as he got too close to her again, not liking that at all, and Seto's temper silently exploded and he smacked the man's hand away none too gently.

"I would be more than happy to explain manners to you in a way you can understand." Seto growled.

The man puffed up and turned toward him, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can't say no. Those are your rules, Kaiba." His dark eyes glittering. "Or are you forfeiting to me?"

Seto raised an eyebrow, clearly indicating he thought this duelist was in way over his head. "I can see you're in a hurry to get knocked out of the tournament." He remarked, his voice bland, and she saw him noting that the man had only one glowing mark remaining. Reaching into his trench coat he pulled out his wallet and paid for their meal before she could get to her purse, being sure the bills were well away from the spilled water. She was beyond frustrated by the interruption when this conversation could already be done and over with, or at least the subject would be out in the open. She tried to ignore that she could have brought this subject up anytime they had been alone since they got back from San Fransisco, but couldn't in good conscious. No matter how rude or badly timed, this wasn't the strangers fault.

Seto must have seen the look of helpless frustration on her face because she saw him studying her closely, the way he did when he was trying to work something out. However, he clearly decided to deal with this duelist first so he could give her his full attention. Seto turned fluidly, his jacket snapping about him as he held his hand out to help her up, on the side of the table farthest from his apparent opponent so she would be well away from him, clearly noting her unease with all the swinging about. Slipping her hand into his she allowed him to help her up, taking her bag with her free hand as he spoke. "It seems I should have put a clause in the rules for rude interruptions." He commented dryly.

Despite herself her lip twitched up at the corner. "If you did I'm sure more than thirty of them would already be gone."

The duelist narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but she wasn't overly concerned. "Are we going to duel or what, Kaiba?"

"I wouldn't call what's about to happen a duel." Kaiba remarked as he headed toward the open square the restaurant stood along, weaving easily between the few tables that were between them and the area. "More like an exercise in futility."

The other man puffed himself up as she followed willingly after Seto, adjusting her bag on her shoulder as they went and liking that he still had her hand in his. Clearly, Seto was not pleased with the interruption, as she was about to tell him something, or the way the other man was acting toward them, which was more than rude. Seto was generally off putting to strangers, but he wasn't holding his tongue at all with this man. The duelist snapped. "I'm ranked eighteenth in the world!"

Despite herself her annoyance was diminishing somewhat. She still hadn't had a chance to watch Seto duel, and this would certainly be as good, if not better, than his game against Bandit Keith. While it wouldn't have the pomp or circumstance Seto relished in she would get better than a front row seat to this, and wouldn't have to worry about hearing over a crowd. "Are you really?" She asked with interest. He was high up if that were true, outdoing Keith by ten or twelve people, although she couldn't recall exactly what rank the other duelist was. Seto had told her, but she couldn't recall at the moment. "That's really impressive." She remarked. "What's your name?"

The duelist's face went red in rage. She stared at him blankly as they paused at the edge of the square, aware that the question had upset him, although she hadn't meant it as a slur. Really, she didn't follow professional gamers at all and knew virtually nothing about any of the duelists here, save for the ones she had meet at school. But even so she wouldn't have been able to comment in any way on their decks, save for Seto's since she had seen it. Within moments the duelist was yelling, beside himself at not being recognized. "Are you serious?" He turned to Seto. "Is she serious?"

"I might need a reminder as well." He commented in a bored sort of way, and she could tell he was feigning ignorance to annoy the other man. Seto didn't forget anything, at least that she had seen so far, and was sure he knew who this was. He probably knew every card in his deck as she found it likely he had committed most of the duelist's cards and strategies here to memory before the competition started. It was just something he would have done.

The shorter man was fuming. "I'm Rex Raptor!" He snapped. "You dueled me in the international championships the year you were ranked first in the world!"

Seto walked by him, not at all concerned with him. "I've beaten hundreds of duelists." Kaiba stood at one end of the square as she moved out of the way when he let go of her, ready to watch a few feet to his left, right out of the area the projections would start displaying. "I only bother to remember the good ones."

The sharp words cut at Rex and he seethed. He quickly moved in front of Seto, clearly here to prove something, and both of them raised their hands to activate a duel, Seto's whole demeanor radiating how uninterested in this whole process he was. Tiny projectors shot out and landed on the pavement, booting up quickly as they connected to the Kaiba Corp mainframe and began to broadcast. Rex drew fast, notably so, and was laying a card down before Seto had gotten two cards out of his deck. She'd never seen anything like that, but saw Seto's eyes narrowing at the action. It was the first emotion other than boredom or dismissal he'd sent the other man since he challenged him. She figured it meant something to him, but not really to her. Since that was the case she simply watched, making note to ask Seto about it after the duel. Unfazed by Rex he continued to draw cards at a normal pace. "I lay one card face down and play Kiteptera in attack mode!" Rex asserted loudly.

She looked up at the large winged dinosaur, having never seen one like that before. While Seto had a great deal of cards for her to look at and pick from, she hadn't spent much time on any monsters but dragons. She supposed she might have simply overlooked this card when she was making her deck. "Is that all?" Seto goaded.

"Yes, go!" Rex insisted, and all at once she realized what he was trying to do. Really, it wasn't a good strategy, and made her think he was relying on being irritating more than his own skill.

"Do you really think you can hurry me into something?" Seto asked him casually, easily seeing that Rex was trying to agitate him and get him to do something foolish. If Rex thought he could get Kaiba to do anything he didn't want to he was clearly out of his mind. This had not been a well thought out strategy on his part at all. Seto would move at his own pace regardless of what anyone else said or wanted in any sort of interaction at work, or out of it. There was no way a duel would be any different, and now that he knew would likely be obstinate about it and go even slower. This man seemed desperate. "You're not going to make me go any faster hurling cards around and yelling like a maniac." Seto went on as he drew his sixth card. "But as you have no skills I don't know what I was expecting."

Rex growled, irritated Seto had worked that out so quickly, and he drew his sixth card. "I'll lay two cards face down and summon Battle Ox in attack mode." A fearsome, plate armored, minotaur wielding a dangerously sharp axe flashed to life before Kaiba. The beast bellowed and rotated the axe dangerously in one hand, his nostrils flaring, clearly ready to behead the dinosaur at Seto's command.

"Hey, check it out!" A familiar voice called out before Seto could order an attack. They all glanced over and she saw Tristan, Mai, and Bakura walking into the area. "Kaiba's dueling Rex."

She smiled happily and waved, drawing their attention to her. She was pleased to see them, as she had always got along with Bakura and she considered Mai a friend. She had been a bit worried that she had rubbed Bakura the wrong way at Kaiba Corp the other day, but he appeared pleased when he spotted her. "Hi, guys!"

"Hey, hon." Mai replied, clearly happy to see her as they all headed over to the sidelines to join her. "I heard you entered."

Relieved that the other woman didn't appear angry over her taking Joey down, she smiled back, noting Mai also had on a duel disk. "It's been pretty fun so far. How are you doin-"

"Do you mind?" Rex snapped, interrupting the conversation.

Mai raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "No one was talking to you." The blond pointed out. "If I were you I'd focus on your duel. Kaiba's going to wipe you out I'm seconds rather than minutes."

"I doubt that-"

"Destroy his monster." Seto ordered with a flick of his hand. His Battle Ox lunged forward and sliced the dinosaur in half, dropping Rex's life points by four hundred points. It wasn't much, not when they started with five thousand, but it wasn't nothing either.

Rex huffed, but didn't seem overly concerned. Seto just looked ready to move past all of this. "I special summon Swift Gilasuarus from my hand. Doing this allows you to draw a card from your graveyard, but since you don't have any you don't benefit. And since that was a special summon I get to call another monster to the field. I summon Torakodon!" Two new dinosaurs appeared on the field. Both looked as if they had been based off of a velociraptor. One was brown with mottled green arms, and the other was bright blue with stripes running down its back. They hissed, bobbing around one another as they flexed their claws.

"Neither of those cards can stand up to my Battle Ox." Seto remarked impatiently. "So hurry up and sacrifice them to call whatever it is you foolishly think you can beat me with. I'm already bored with this match."

Rex tossed a card down. "Let's see how bored you are dealing with my Super Ancient Dinobeast!" His two raptors vanished and a large grey dragon with minuscule wings appeared on the field. The monster looked as if it had been calcified or something. She didn't really have a better way to describe it. However, what was clear was that it was substantially more powerful than either of the monsters he had sacrificed to bring it on the field, as well as Seto's Battle Ox. "Destroy his armored cow!"

A blast of green energy shot out of the dinosaurs mouth and the Battle Ox was hurled backward before it vanished in a flash of light. Seto's life points dropped by a thousand points and she frowned. Seto was nonplussed and beside her Bakura also didn't appear overly impressed. Rex, on the other hand, was gleeful. "Still bored?"

In response Seto raised a single eyebrow and drew another card from his deck. "I'll lay another card face down and summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode." A water warrior, his scaled armor shimmering blue and green appeared on the field holding a very dangerous looking triton. Turning it's head the warrior nodded in deference to Seto before turning forward and waiting obediently for an order. "Then I'll end my turn."

Rex frowned for a moment before looking as if he had won the lottery. "It's so tragic when you forget to change your monsters to defense mode." Seto said nothing and she came to the conclusion that Rex was less intelligent than she thought, even after that failed attempt to rush Seto into something. With three face down cards on the field she certainly wouldn't have assumed he forgot to flip his monster to defense mode. This was obviously a setup and Rex fell right into it. "Attack his monster Dinobeast!"

Before anything could happen Seto flipped over a trap card, which appeared to only surprise Rex. "I activate Threatening Roar." A terrifying bellow went off, so loud all of them covered their ears to try to block it out. The dinosaur hissed and took a step back, it's attack stopping dead.

"Attack!" Rex yelled again.

"My trap card prevents you from attacking me this turn." Seto told him. "Try to keep up."

Rex pressed his lips together as Seto drew a card. He smirked and she knew he was about to decimate Rex. She had no idea how he was going to pull it off, but she knew he was. "I summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode." A caped warrior wearing the skull of a dragon as a helmet appeared on the field.

"Well, that didn't take him long." Mai commented.

"No." Bakura agreed.

She frowned over at them, really curious. She'd never had him call this monster when they were playing together. "What's he going to do?"

"Just watch." Bakura advised.

Tristan shook his head. "You would think Rex would have seen this coming."

Turning her attention back she saw Seto flip over a card. "And I activate The Flute of Summoning Dragons." A large horn with the face of a dragon on the end shimmered into the hand of his armored warrior. "This spell card, in combination with my Lord of Dragons, allows me to call two dragons from my hand to the field." Her eyes widened in shock, as that was an impressive effect, and she had a feeling that she knew what was coming. Excitement filled her at finally getting to see one of his favorite cards on the hologram at last. "I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" With twin roars two giant white dragons appeared before him and she felt an increasingly familiar surge of sickness before her entire being went slack. Her mind went hazy as she stared up at them and Seto made a harsh motion. "And then I activate Kaiser Sea Horse's special ability to call my finally Blue Eyes!" A third mighty dragon appeared, joining the other two and filling most of the square as the water warrior dematerialized as Kaiba sacrificed it.

Mai let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "I'll give Kaiba this, he does know how to show himself off."

She felt something as she gazed up at the dragons, and the scratching in her mind, that horrible feeling of wrongness, began to take over. Seto smirked as his three dragons shifted about, undulating around one another, around him, with savage eagerness. Inexplicably captivated by him she stared at Seto as white scales parted around him, and suddenly found she was looking at someone else entirely. She quivered at the confusing sight, blinking rapidly, and not fully comprehending what it was she was seeing. It wasn't as if anything had overtly changed. He looked the same all the way around, from his clothes to the arrogant smirk of triumph on his face, but she also saw someone else. It was as if sitting right inside him was someone else, someone standing in the shell of him, which was a baffling as it was terrifying. As he raised his hand, making a harsh slicing motion, she recognized the other man that had now appeared in her disturbingly real dreams twice now. "White lightning attack! Destroy his dinosaur!" One of the dragons let out a blast of absolute power, engulfing the Dinobeast in white energy and vaporizing it. She flinched all over as she was suddenly assaulted by a strange image of another Seto, standing before her in the desert with his hand outstretched, his eyes warm, as white robes fluttered around him.

The vision flashed and faded in an instant as Seto barked out a final command. "Now, hit his life points directly!" The other two dragons roared in agreement and blasted Rex. He let out a cry as his life points dropped to nothing. Blinking rapidly she saw that Seto was back, but unease settled firmly in her belly even as he turned his duel disk off and casually dropped his arm.

Rex stomped about, fuming, as the small projectors zipped back to the sides of his duel disk. As they locked in place Seto moved forward to collect his prize as a fourth light began to shimmer on his wrist. Rex, on the other hand, was cursing as all the light on his vanished. This guy was clearly a sore loser and wasn't happy to have been knocked out of the tournament. Seto obviously didn't care how he felt about it. "I'll take your Water Hazard spell card." He said, holding his hand out impatiently. Her suspicions that he knew every duelist's deck here was confirmed as he named a card that had never appeared on the field.

"Not that one!" Rex protested.

Seto raised his eyebrow. "As you don't have a second mark to give me you owe me the card. Or would you like to discuss a breach of contract with my law team? As I recall you did sign one."

"Give it up, Rex." Tristan called. "At least go out with some class."

Rex glared at him but yanked a card from his deck, shoving it at Kaiba. Seto took it between two fingers and tucked it into his deck calmly. Turning, he walked over to them, or more like her as he wasn't giving much attention to anyone else as Rex stormed off. "Nice duel, Kaiba." Mai commented, and his eyes came up. He nodded to her slightly, which was about as civil as he tended to get with most people. She thought he either respected Mai for her stubborn independence and unwilling to follow others, which he admired in everyone, or was making some sort of effort as she had mentioned that she and Mai often spent time together. Mai, who was either used to his behavior or was unfazed by it, went on, her pretty heliotrope eyes studying him. "It's good to see you haven't let yourself slide while you were out of the competitive scene." Her eyes glittered. "I hope this time around we get to duel."

Seto's eyes flicked to her wrist, noting that her friend also had a fourth mark. It seemed she was no longer in the lead, but thought it likely she was still hanging at the front of the pack, which was very odd. Despite Seto's strange confidence that she would get to the finals she hadn't actually expected to get even this close. She really had thought she would have been knocked out by now, but was apparently doing pretty well so far. "I'm sure it would be more entertaining than battling the mutt you drag about behind you."

Rather than getting upset at the intended jibe she sent him a sultry, predatory smile. "Some men like being on a leash, Kaiba." Her gaze flicked between them for a millisecond and she was sure Mai had worked out that they were together, although how she managed that when all he had done was walk over to her was a mystery. Maybe Duke had mentioned it to her at some point. "Maybe you should give it a try some time, hmm? It can be such fun to let someone else take control."

Seto narrowed his eyes as she tried to fight back a blush at the suggestion, and she thought for once he was stumped coming up with a witty comeback. Bakura cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yes, quite. I suppose we should be getting along then." He said, clearly ready to flee from this conversation. "We were going to meet Duke to see how he was doing."

"Devlin entered?" Seto asked neutrally. "I didn't see him at the opening."

"Strange thing that." Bakura agreed. "As he generally sticks to Dungeon Dice Monsters, but I think he's trying to draw in more people by showing off." He shrugged. "And he never manages to get anywhere on time. I think he must have been the last one to get one of your new duel disks."

Seto said nothing to that and Tristan cut in. "See you around then." He began to walk off. "I'd invite you, but we both know you'd say something oh so charming to excuse yourself."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, but shockingly held his tongue again. Bakura and Mai followed after Tristan. "Let's meet for dinner after the tournament, hon, it's been weeks. A girl would start to think you found someone else to occupy your time."

"Okay." She agreed, sure now that Mai knew. "Good luck."

"Who needs luck with this level of skill?" Mai asked saucily right before they turned a corner and vanished.

When he was sure they were out of earshot Kaiba reached into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out. She watched him curiously as he dialed a number. Within seconds someone picked up. "Is Devlin registered?" Seto asked before the other person could say anything. There was a brief pause and she heard a muffled voice she thought was Mokuba. "I've been told he's participating and has a duel disk. Find out where he is and call me back." Another muffled response and he hung up, shoving the phone away.

"He's not registered?" She asked, more than a little surprised.

"No."

She didn't understand that at all. "Then he must have one of the stolen duel disks. But why would he steal one? I'm sure he could have gotten into the tournament without stealing one." She knew Seto wasn't a huge fan of Duke, and he certainly drove her up the wall when he put his mind to it, but he did have talent. He was surely better than Rex Raptor, and he had made it in.

She saw thoughts whirling behind his eyes. "That's a very good question." After several moments he returned his attention to her, only to find her studying him intently, although she saw nothing to indicate he was anyone other than he was. Still, the feeling of wrongness hadn't gone away despite seeing nothing to show anything was wrong. Reaching up he tucked her hair back behind her ear. "What did you want to tell me?"

At the reminder her stomach churned, but she gathered herself together, although she lost eye contact with him. "I should have told you before." She admitted at once, knowing that was true. "But things kept coming up."

Seto was frowning. "What are you talking about?"

She took a steadying breath and looked back up at him. "When Pegasus brought me up to his office he had paperwork for me. I thought it was a trick until we got back and someone had slipped it under my door."

His frown deepened. "What kind of paperwork?"

"He gave me ten percent of Kaiba Corp in stock options." She stated, knowing that if she hemmed and hawed around it anymore it would only agitate him. "I don't know how he managed to buy it without you knowing about it, but he had all the stocks signed over to me when they got me up there." Seto was staring at her blankly, it was the first time she had ever seen that happen. "I still didn't think it was real until my lawyer verified it with his company the week after it happened. He said it was an apology to you and Mokuba for whatever happened between you. He said he knew I would keep it safe and that you couldn't buy any more of your company without people getting nervous about it. He also said you would never take it from him for whatever reason you have, so he gave it to me to give to you if you needed it for some reason."

She waited for him to do something and after several moments that felt like a lifetime he spoke, his voice clipped and his tone direct. "I specifically asked you what he wanted, what he said to you." He said at a normal volume, which actually made the whole thing more upsetting than if he was yelling. It hardly helped that his eyes had frosted over dangerously.

"I didn't think it was real." She whispered. "That's, it's insane. Why would anyone do that? I wasn't lying to you. I didn't know what he wanted most of the time I was there. He kept flipping between flirting, and teasing, and threatening me like it was all the same to him. I didn't want to upset you over nothing when you were already so angry." She shook her head, watching him anxiously in her confusion, not trying to hide anything. "I didn't know what to do after that, or how to bring it up, and I didn't have anyone to ask what to do with it."

"You could have asked me!" He yelled, his voice rising abruptly and lashing over her like a whip and she cringed. Seto clearly didn't care that they were out in public, or that the shouting was drawing some attention.

"I know I should have-"

He rolled right over her words as if she hadn't said anything. "I have given you every reason to trust me! I have gone out of my way over and over to keep you safe! I've risked my personal and professional reputation to keep you from being deported and placed back in foster care! What would compel you to keep this a secret from me?"

This was going even worse than she had imagined, and she realized too late she never should have brought this up when they weren't somewhere private, even if no one was within a thirty foot radius of them. Obviously, this was never going to go over well no matter how it was presented. "Seto, I swear, I wasn't trying to keep anything from you." She protested weakly, having no defense, only excuses. "I was going to tell you the night I met with the lawyer, but you had finally asked me over and I didn't want to ruin it." He said nothing and she went on. "And then… then we hardly talked the whole week before you dueled Keith." Her cheeks flushed in remembrance. "And then I was in the hospital-"

"And then in my bed." He concluded icily. "What opportune timing."

She recoiled at the implication that she had slept with him to gain anything other than an increase in their bond. "I've never asked you for anything." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Not one thing, not even when I was practically starving." His eyes were as cold as they had ever been, although she knew he couldn't deny that was true. "Why would this be any different?"

"I'm sure I could think of millions of reasons." He retorted pointedly.

Her lip quivered horribly as several tears slipped down her cheeks. "How can you say that to me?"

He turned slightly away from her, obviously trying to put space between them without it looking like he was. "How long have you worked for Pegasus?" He demanded. "Is he the one that changed your records for you?"

"What?" Panic began to set in as his paranoia appeared to take fully over. "I don't work for Pegasus!"

"I don't believe you." He stated, his half averted face contorted in anger and betrayal.

Her stomach churned, but she could see even as he said it that he didn't believe it. "Yes you do." She replied, refusing to allow him to be obstinate about this of all things no matter how upset she was. A tear tracked down her cheek even as she fired back. "I haven't sold any of the stocks or spent any of the money from the dividends. I don't want any of it, I didn't ask for it, and it doesn't matter to me. And you're right I should have told you. But I didn't know what to say or how to bring it up. I thought you might fire me or to tell me to leave." She hated to admit that she had been afraid, but she had been, she had been terrified and still was. She realized all at once why this had been so hard for her. "And I didn't want to have to go so I didn't say anything. You and your brother are all I have. You're the only two people that have cared about me at all since my parents died. I would never do anything to hurt you, or Mokuba, or your company and I know you believe that, and it has nothing to do with us sleeping together." He was still facing away from her, but some of the anger had drained away, even if he was looking past her. "And maybe Pegasus was the one that changed my identity, I don't know. I never met whoever did it. That wasn't how it worked and I didn't want to make waves, I just wanted to get out. I met whoever it was in a chatroom online and showed up where they told me to. I dropped my money off and the next day I got everything I asked for delivered to me by a courier. I was out of the country three weeks later, the day after your recruiter offered me a job."

He pressed his lips together and looked away from her, clearly furious, but also struggling with what she had told him with such honest sincerity. She waited, more than ready for condemnation, or the dismissal she had so feared, and found herself staring down at the ground uncomfortably. Finally, he let out a breath and she saw all the fight just drain out of him when she glanced up at the sound. When he turned back to face her his expression was a cross between irritation and acceptance. "Do you have the actual paperwork for the stocks?" He asked at a reasonable volume. "I need to work out how he managed to buy that much without anyone noticing. A paper trail would be helpful."

She felt herself calming marginally. "They're in the safe in my closet. And my lawyer has a copy."

Reaching up he began to rub at his temples. "You have the paperwork for literally hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stocks in the easily movable safe in your bedroom?" He sighed, as if he didn't know what else he should have been expecting.

"Ummm." When he said it like that she felt a bit sheepish, but sensed his acceptance of this whole situation in a rush, which helped her regain nearly all of her composure. "Yes? But, I mean, it's fireproof." Her voice dropped a little as she reached up and wiped at her cheeks. "So there's that?"

"Why aren't they at a bank in a safety deposit box?" He asked as he dropped his hand, clearly striving for patience.

"No one actually thinks I have anything to steal." She pointed out. "And, I was supposed to drop them off the second day I was in the hospital and obviously couldn't, and sort of, never got around to it."

He opened his mouth to say something then clearly thought better of it and tried again. "Anyone with any sense would sell them and walk away." He told her, but if he thought she was foolish or right for not selling she couldn't tell. "You'd never have to work again."

"It's only in my name because you wouldn't take it from Pegasus." She told him, really believing that. "And I only took it because I was afraid of what he might do with it if I didn't. It's not really mine."

"Every business law in existence says otherwise." He told her. She shrugged in response and he shook his head a little, obviously still processing this.

"I honestly don't want any of it, Seto." She told him, and she meant it. All this seemed to have brought her was trouble and massive amounts of stress she didn't want. She found being poor and at the brink of malnourishment to be less anxiety provoking. "I'll sign everything over to you today if you want me to, or to Mokuba. If anything happens to me it's supposed to go to him anyway."

Seto titled his head slightly. "You made your will out to Mokuba?"

Her lawyer had insisted she needed one, and when asked the only people she could think to give anything to was one of them. "Pegasus wasn't exactly wrong about your shareholders." She had been to one or two meetings with them when a visiting business person was there to translate for them. She found them to be some of the most boring meetings to attend, but also understood the importance of them. "You would have bought more of the company if you thought it was smart, and you haven't. I know you probably would have bought it for Mokuba too, if you thought it was a good idea, but I thought it was a safer option than leaving it to you. You'd be able to play it off easier and both of you would still have control of Kaiba Corp."

He watched her intently for a moment. "You realize that the money from the dividends has nothing to do with your ownership of part of the company."

"It's not mine." She said again, fully believing that. "It should be yours."

"That ten percent was never mine." He told her. "All of it was a publicly accessible stock. Before it was in your name anyone on the planet could have purchased it and received that money." Annoyance crossed his face as he no doubt realized Pegasus must have benefited from his hard work. "That money is yours."

"I never could have afforded the stocks to begin with-"

He cut her off. "There's no reason you shouldn't spend that money on whatever it is you want." He told her. "And there's no reason you shouldn't take advantage of that madman, or a basic economic mechanic."

"It's not right." She disagreed.

"Why?" He demanded.

She thought that was a ridiculous question. "I didn't earn it."

"You earned it by owning the stocks." He pointed out logically.

"Seto, you can't be serious." She replied, not believing that somehow, this whole thing had flipped on it's head and he was insisting it was right she owned ten percent of Kaiba Corp. She hadn't at all planned for a reaction like this.

"I'm very serious." He disagreed and she saw him coming to a quick conclusion. "The stocks are safe in your name and gives me more opportunity to push out new products. If you aren't going to dump those stocks if something flops the overall losses are severely reduced. It gives me a distinct advantage in the long run. I would think that hefty margin of error alone is enough to say you earned it."

She was dumbfounded. "What on earth would I spend that sort of money on?"

"Buying your apartment or paying off your car would be a good start." He told her as he turned on his heel. "Come on. I want that paperwork somewhere safer. We can take it to Kaiba Corp and put it in the vault until after the tournament."

She scrambled to catch up to him as he simply took off. "No landlord in their right mind would sell me a single apartment."

He let out a low huff and muttered to himself. "I'm starting to agree with that."

"What?"

"Never mind." He waved it off. "I'll contact the owner for you. I'm sure we can work something out, or you could simply buy a house."

She wrinkled her nose a little. She had turned that idea over before, but it was all so much work and maintenance, and while she might like that one day, right now it wasn't very appealing. At the moment it was easy for her to let someone else take care of things when they broke, to rely on the security built into the building to keep her apartment secure when she wasn't there, and to leave everything to be passively monitored by someone else if they went on a random business trip. Having an apartment was such a lovely convenience she was loath to give it up. "I like my apartment. I can call whoever owns the building myself at any rate."

"The subway will be faster." He remarked as they approached a terminal, letting that go with ease. "I walked here."

"I did too." She agreed, knowing the train would take only five minutes or so when it was at least a twenty minute walk there. She was sure Seto wanted to take care of this quickly so he could get back to the tournament. They headed down the stairs and she shot him several glances as they went, wanting to be sure he was really over this, and also still stinging a little at the argument, for all it appeared to be over. Seto was clearly deep into his head and didn't notice as they quickly paid their fair and got onto a car at the front of a train that had pulled in as they walked onto the terminal.

Sleek and aerodynamic she had found the trains here fascinating since she first saw them. There was nothing like this mass transit where she was from, not in such a small place as her hometown. She knew New York had a system like this, not that she had ever been there or seen it. It was efficient though, and the lines were well placed throughout Domino. You could get practically anywhere on them, although they tended to get rather crowded first thing in the morning and anytime after five or so once people started getting out of work. She had really wished she had known about them when she first got here as it would have stopped her from spending her money on a car. Still, it was nice having one and she hadn't sold the car back as she was able to afford it after Seto had given her a raise when she started tutoring Mokuba. Despite the cost, it was a freedom she found difficult to let go of when she valued her freedom so heavily.

When they got on the car was empty, which she found a bit odd even with it being an odd time of the day between lunch and late afternoon. With the tournament going on she thought their would be a bit more activity all around, but maybe everyone was above ground looking for entertainment. Moving to the center she reached up and took hold of one of the handrails. Seto stood next to her with his arms crossed, swaying ever so slightly as the train started moving smoothly forward. They were both quiet for several minutes before Seto brought himself out of his head. Glancing over at her he reached up and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. She was sure they were still blotchy from the crying. His eyes caught and held hers and he spoke abruptly. "It would take a truly extraordinary event for you to lose either of us." She stared up at him. "You're our family now as much as we're yours." Her eyes softened and she leaned into his hand. "Although I understand why you were afraid to tell me-"

The train suddenly jerked hard, slowing without warning as it's breaks squealed, and Seto stumbled back, falling to the ground with a thud. She managed to stay up only because she was holding onto the rail. She was trying to right herself, reaching up with her other hand as her knees buckled below her. Before she could get a firmer grip the train rushed forward again. The sudden change in direction, when she was trying to right herself to accommodate in first shift, threw her. She let out a yelp as she lost her grip and hit the ground. She slid all the way back to to the end of the car, her back hitting the door uncomfortably hard. Seto grunted moments after she heard a thud, and when she looked up, the speed having leveled out, she saw him at an awkward angle against one of the rails with his trench coat wrapped around it. She realized he must have hit his ribs against it as he was pulled backward by the force. "Are you okay?" She asked with worry.

He pushed himself up with a glare, apparently miffed that the principles of physics had dared to challenge his dignity. "Are you?"

"Yeah." She agreed as she got to her feet, her back sore from the impact, but she knew there wasn't any lasting harm done. "That probably shouldn't have happened." She commented with a wince. Seto was glancing around quickly, after looking her over briefly, and she glanced out the back of the car, and then did a double take. It took her a moment to realize what it was she was seeing, because there wasn't anything there. There was nothing behind them, nothing at all. The other cars of the train were gone, the tracks were gone, everything, even the tunnel, appeared to be gone. Her eyes went wide as she stepped fully in front of the small window, seeing only swirling darkness. "Seto?" She called, backing away from the window, a sense of dread filling her.

"What is it?" He asked distractedly, having been trying to see up into the front of the train, no doubt looking for the conductor. Before she could answer the darkness began to ooze up between the cracks of the door, and somehow seeped through the edges of the window, tearing the back of the car away as if it had never existed. She stumbled back away from it with a cry of fear and Seto grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back to his chest, and jerking them both away from the shadows. As she watched the darkness wrapped up around itself and began to hiss and howl at them both, the same way it had in the mansion months ago now. The difference was, this time she swore she heard them whispering threats at her, although she could barely hear them over the hissing, the words disjointed and jumbled over one another in a hundred different voices and twice as many dialects.

Half turning she shoved her shoulder into Seto, driving him even farther away from the inky mist. A terrible understanding suddenly crashed over her as she managed to piece together a few of the languages into a distinguishable statement. "They're here for you this time!" She told him, her voice laced with panic, the fright driving her good sense to keep the knowledge of these haunting mysteries to herself.

The push didn't put enough space between them and this living nightmare. One of the shadows wrapped around her ankle and yanked her down hard, ripping her out of Seto's grasp. She was slammed to the ground with jarring force, the air driven from her lungs by the impact, and was dragged backward away from him. Letting out a shout Seto lunged forward after her, managing to wrap his fingers tightly around her wrist, and then shoved his other hand out before him as he pulled her back toward him hard. In it, was the strange, golden rod that had sent the shadows after her the first time. Snarling a curse a blast of golden light began to burn the shadows away. Within moments she felt the vice like grip on her ankle vanish, and her body dropped flat to the floor, and then the shadows were gone.

Lifting her head up slowly she found the rod directly in front of her eyes. Breathless, she looked beyond it, at Seto, and found his double staring back at her.

Author's Note: I know you all know, but seriously, the holidays are nuts! Sorry for the delay! The next chapter should be up much faster :)


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Creeping Normality

Laying out over the dirty floor of the subway she stared up into navy eyes as she fought to get air back into her lungs. He stared back at her silently, his fingers still wrapped firmly around her wrist and his breathing heavy, as she managed to force her lungs open and draw in a ragged breath. Her adrenaline was so high she was noticeably shaking, and for the moment she was far more concerned about the shadows than whoever it was holding onto her, although really, at this point, it was a coin toss as to which was scaring her more. With one clearly trying to kill her and the other having taken over the body of her lover, she was torn between fear and horror. Twisting to her side she looked behind herself frantically and saw only the back of the train car. It looked as if nothing had ever happened, as if it hadn't simply stopped existing a few moments ago, but the raw scratches on her ankle, and the pain in her chest where she'd been slammed into the ground told her there was no denying that had happened. There was no way that she had hallucinated any of that. As she scrambled to get her feet under her, the thin rubber soles of her flats squeaking loudly against the metal floor, the train slowed to a halt. A comfortingly familiar ding filled the compartment, indicating they had arrived at the next station, and she simply bolted for the exit, ripping out of his grasp, as terror crashed through her.

"Sarah, stop!" Seto's double snapped near to frantically behind her.

Completely ignoring this, even though she had never heard his tone come close to panic-stricken, and wanting nothing more than to put space between them, she shoved her hands between the small crack in the door, where it had been opening at a normal speed, and shoved them open faster. Seeing an exit from this horror in front of her she was literally tumbling out of the doors when she was caught around the waist and yanked backward roughly. She let out a shout of protest, that quickly turned into a choked cry of fear as another tendril of darkness lanced in after her retreat, having clearly been waiting for one or both of them to try to exit. Another blast of golden light went off and the doors slammed closed as Seto twisted himself around so he was holding her as far from the doorway as he could, keeping his body between her and it in an effort to shield her as he held the rod out toward the exit. A wave of muted light went off around the car and her eyes darted around at the odd spectacle as it wrapped around them, slipping under their feet and over their heads like quick moving silk before dulling so much she could barely see it. Further frightened by the odd shimmer, which she was sure came from Seto, she jerked away from him and scrambled toward the front of the train. It was the only place that the shadows hadn't yet come from, although she was sure it was no safer than anywhere else when part of the car had literally just stopped existing for a period of time.

Breathing heavily Seto's double lowered his arm, gripping the rod as it fell to his side. "Just calm dow-"

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice sharpened by fear as she took in the obviously tired stranger before her.

He frowned, confused, even as he tried to catch his breath. "What?"

She was not calmed or convinced by the baffled response. "And what is that thing?" She pushed, pointing at the rod. "And what are those shadows?"

He watched her for a moment before speaking, clearly gathering his thoughts as he took in her near panic. "What do you mean who am I?" He asked at last. "You know very well who I am."

She watched him warily, still seeing the double, the person standing inside him. "No. I don't." She had no idea how to articulate this. "You're the other one." She managed. "The one I keep seeing standing inside Seto. Where is Seto?"

He pressed his lips together for a moment. "There's only me, Sarah."

"There's _not_." Her tone was firm and convicted. Even now she could see the difference, she could see the age in this one's eyes that simply didn't exist yet in Seto. He was far too young to have an old man's eyes.

"There's only me." He repeated. Rolling his shoulders slightly he blinked, and all at once he was back, replacing the stranger. She twitched noticeably at the abrupt shift. "It's my magic you're seeing. It's what it takes for me to use it. It makes me look different to you."

The was a pronounced silence as her mind stumbled over the words, understanding, but hardly believing. "Your magic." She repeated. "There is no such thing as magic."

"I sincerely wish that were true." He replied, sounding honestly aggravated. "But I assure you there is."

"That's impossible." She stated, trying to calm herself down, but having a very difficult time with it. She thought, in general, she handled most situations fairly well, but this was a bit much. And even if she had briefly thought there were some sort of ghosts in his house, she wasn't sure she had ever really believed that there was magic involved in it.

He made a motion all around them. "Then what would your alternative explanation to any of that be? I promise I've been after one for years." When she sent him a skittish look he continued. "And you aren't insane before you ask."

Her eyes flicked down to the rod again before coming back up to his face. " _What_ is going on?" She demanded. He opened his mouth and she sensed exactly what was going to happen by the calculated glint in his eyes. "Don't you dare try to lie to me, Seto Kaiba, or so help me I will have a real fit. And we both know I can tell when you lie."

"That's an irritating talent." He remarked. She said nothing, only eyed him up and down, and he let out a low huff of frustration. "The short version is that there is a very dangerous person in this city that seems to be very intent on collecting our souls. I hosted this tournament to try to draw him out so I can stop him before he manages." She stared at him silently for several long moments. She had no response to that at all. She had no idea how to even begin forming a reasonable reply to that statement. After a significant wait time, where it became clear she wasn't going to speak, he went on. "The shadows you keep seeing are, as best as I can guess, a physical manifestation of creatures that come from a different plane of existence. It's possible to access that place if you have a predisposition to magic and something to help you focus that ability." He indicated the item in his hand. "Something like the rod that I'm holding. The man that's after us has an item that's very similar."

Her eyes flicked to the nearest window, wondering if those things were still out there waiting, before coming back to him. Her mind was rolling information over at an alarmingly fast rate. "That thing was in your bedroom."

"Yes." He agreed. "It's mine."

She backed up another step, now having nowhere else to retreat to get any farther away from him and having shivers of betrayal tickling down her spine coldly. "Why would you send those things after me?"

"I didn't." He replied unhappily, and she saw him noting her distrust with real upset. "That wasn't supposed to happen. These items… they have power and react in ways they shouldn't on occasion, especially in unusual situations. I didn't think anything would happen, but I suppose that was foolish of me."

"Unusual situations?" She repeated. "What about that night was unusual?" He said nothing and she pushed, sensing he was trying to avoid something important. "I wasn't doing anything." She told him, now fully aware he knew what had happened that night, although she was still baffled. "I was just walking down the hall." He was stone-faced and silent, and her belly began to roll with anxiety. " _Answer me!_ "

"If anyone else had walked by it wouldn't have been any different than any other day." He told her. "But it was you. It reacted to you being there."

"What?" She didn't understand. "Why would that thing react to me?

He shifted uncomfortably. "You're different than other people."

She took that in. "Are you trying to tell me that I have magic too?" She asked him, flabbergasted. "Because there's no way that I could ever-"

"You don't have magic, you are magic." He interrupted. "You are inherently different than someone born with the ability to access magic that already exists. You create magic, you are…" He searched for a good term. "A manifestation of it."

"I'm a person!" She snapped, fully distressed by his words, which made her sound like some sort of pagan god or something. "I'm not, I'm not magic!"

"Sarah-"

"No!" She overrode him. "That's ridiculous! I'm just a normal person-"

"You aren't!" He yelled, finally raising his voice. "You're not a normal person! You're different! You have power!" She shook her head hard and he went on, lowering his voice once she was quiet. "You had to have guessed there was something different about you." He went on. "No normal person can speak as many languages as you, and they certainly can't learn them at the rate you do. No normal person attracts magic the way you do. No normal person can see the things you can see. You had to have known that you were the one that set off all the lights in the mansion that night and destroyed my security system." She was quiet again, watching him with wide, silent eyes. It was true, she had suspected that, she had more than suspected it. The feeling of sickness had hit her as soon as it happened, just as it had at the ruins in Egypt and several other times when odd things had occurred. Odd things had been occurring on and off for years now, since she came here really, since she met him. "I know better than anyone that this is difficult to accept-"

Before he could finish the car dinged pleasantly again and the doors slid open. They both turned their attention toward it and he narrowed his eyes, gripping the rod in his hand. The shadows didn't attack again, but she wasn't convinced there was nothing out there waiting for them, even if she could see the terminal standing invitingly before them. Still, there was one notable and disturbing detail missing. "Where are all the people?" She asked warily.

"That's not a train station." He told her, staring out at it with hard eyes. "It's just been made to look like one."

"What?" She asked as she edged back toward him, somewhat settled now that he was Seto again, even if all of this was insane and she had no idea what to think or even believe. Still, no matter what he was telling her it was clear he wasn't trying to upset her, or hurt her. Seto had never given her a reason for her to think he would harm her in any way, and that kept her beside him. Looking past him as she hovered behind his shoulder she studied everything intently. It only took her a few moments to see the lights glimmering in the corners. "Is it all made up of lights?" She asked, thinking if this was all real, and it seemed impossible that it wasn't with Seto saying it of all people, she should at least get confirmation on what it was she was experiencing as he seemed to have some insight. She supposed she could deal with actually thinking about this once they were, well, somewhere that actually existed.

His eyes flicked to her for a moment before turning forward. "I can't see the magic." He told her. "I can only feel it."

Her eyes widened in genuine wonder. "The lights are magic?"

"It's how you perceive it." He agreed. Reaching out she took his free hand in hers and he squeezed it even as he kept his eyes trained forward.

"I suppose thinking this train is going to take us somewhere else is a bit optimistic." She commented.

As if in reply the car dinged cheerfully again and Seto narrowed his eyes. "This is a trap."

She fully agreed. "Is there another way out of here?"

"No." He told her.

She squeezed his hand again and looked past him. "Can you stop this person if he's out there?"

"Stay close to me." He said in the way of an answer as he began to move forward with all the bold confidence he normally displayed. She stayed next to him, and he held onto her hand as much as she held onto his. As soon as they stepped onto the platform the train doors slammed shut and it began to pull away at an unnaturally fast pace. As the train vanished she turned her attention forward again, unsure of what their actual destination was at this point. While they could clearly see the exit from where they were she could also see lights dancing over it, looking a bit like a sparkling pane of glass one would place over a photograph in a frame. Seto didn't seem to notice this and was headed that way with what, from her perspective, looked like cool confidence. She wasn't fully convinced he was feeling that way at all despite the show. As they got closer she stopped, tugging him to a halt beside her. He paused, looking over at her, and she shook her head a little as her eyes stayed trained on the doorway. His eyes flicked back to the spot before returning to her. "Which way then?"

She felt her eyes going wide in surprise at the calm question, mostly because it was fully clear that he was sure that she really was able to see what he couldn't. This was such an odd shift from the hyper-logical, a thought process that so defined him, that she was once again unsure if this really was Seto. Still, even with that hanging between them, the frightful uncertainty of whatever he hadn't had a chance or inclination to share with her, they had to escape. Turning her head she began to look about them, and it took her only a few seconds to work out that she couldn't actually see a space to wiggle out of. "It's like a bubble." She said at last. "What is this place? Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Yes." Someone said behind them, and she whirled around as Seto narrowed his eyes, turning much more deliberately. "He has."

Much like the shadows, and the back of the car, two men had suddenly just materialized behind them in front of the tracks. One, she was disturbed to find, she recognized. It was the same man that she had injured over a year ago now, when she first met Mokuba, one of the men that had them imprisoned in Egypt. The other man might well have been one of the other suited men from that afternoon, but she couldn't be sure. Other than his eye the only real difference between them was the color of their ties. One had green and the other yellow. Seto raised an eyebrow. "I was told you had been taken care of." He remarked, having also recognized at least the one-eyed man. "But then, the Ishtars aren't really known for their reliability." One of the men smirked and she noted that both of them had dueling bands on their arms. Seto watched them with calculating eyes. "If you wanted me to beat you in a duel you could have simply asked."

"You are an arrogant bastard." The man with both eyes remarked.

"So I've been told." He said, his eyes flicking to her. "You shouldn't have involved her." He told them. "And you certainly shouldn't have brought us here."

"You aren't in a position to threaten us, Kaiba." The man replied said as the man she had injured stared at her hard.

Seto smirked. "Funny, I seem to recall you saying that to me before, and you were the one that ended up unconscious in a cell."

The man's gray eyes flashed. "If you want to get out of here it looks like you're going to have to beat us in a duel."

She was thrown into another bout of confusion. "Duel you?" She asked, thinking that there was clearly something she was missing and becoming increasingly agitated once again. "Seriously, it's a gaming tournament. If you wanted to battle all you had to do was ask. We're pretty much obligated to agree per the contractual agreement we all had to sign to enter, although I doubt either of you did." There was no doubt in her mind these men had two of the stolen duel disks. She made a motion around them. "What does that dueling have to do with any of this? It's only a game."

Her questions were ignored and the man went on as if she hadn't spoken. "This will be a two on two-"

"That's not even a thing." She interrupted, irritated by being so blatantly dismissed by these two flunkies. Her irritation was rapidly morphing into anger, which was replacing her flight response with a fight response. It probably helped that she was no longer frightened of Seto and was gaining confidence in him being here and that she had, for the moment, accepted that they were in some sort of magical world. "It says so right in the rules that those are prohibited. I translated that thing from front to back ten times."

"As I was saying-" The man started again.

"No one was asking you to say anything." She informed him, crossing her arms. "So shut up."

Seto appeared to agree, and she noted he was trying to stop his lip from twitching at her response. It was much more like him than anything else she had seen in the last ten minutes or so. "Let us out now. You're in enough trouble at this point. Don't make it worse."

"No one can leave until they win." The one-eyed man replied, adjusting his yellow tie. "Our employer made sure of that. This is a shadow game now."

She looked over at Seto in question. "A shadow game? I thought this was duel monsters. Is that a special set of rules or something?"

Seto said nothing, but she saw him glancing around as if he were waiting to see something, and she wondered what it was. After a moment he turned his attention back to their apparent opponents. "And I suppose your employer has decided to sit this one out?" He asked. "I would too if I were him. After all, Mokuba nearly killed him last time, forgiving person that he is, imagine what I'll do."

She frowned, knowing she was out of the loop. "We both know it was her power that let them escape." The one-eyed man replied. "Do you really think you're safe with her?" He made a motion toward her. "Give her to us and you can go."

"I thought no one was escaping?" Seto threw back before making a calm gesture toward her. "But if you think you can handle her, by all means, try something. I doubt you'll live more than five seconds all told. She won't take orders from you and no one has the power to make her do anything she doesn't want to do."

Wondering what Seto thought it was she could do she said nothing and tried to keep the confusion off her face. "She won't have a choice but to obey soon."

Seto made a dismissive noise even as her stomach bunched at that rather ominous pronouncement. "Is he really foolish enough to think he can?" Seto almost seemed amused. "I'd like to see him try, but one thing at a time." Seto activated his duel disk. The other men stepped away from each other so they would have room and activated their duel disks as well. After a quick look over at Seto, she flipped hers on after taking a few steps to the side, ending up in front of the man with the green tie. "It'll be alright, Sarah." He said calmly. "We can beat them. You need to stay focused."

"I've never played with another person as a partner." She pointed out, figuring these men already knew. "And what's a shadow game? Are there different rules?"

One of the men laughed cruelly. "You could say that." Her eyes darted over to him and he watched her with his one eye. "The stakes are certainly higher than the loss of a duel monster card at the end."

"Ignore him." Seto said grimly as the lights around them began to dim and a strange dark mist rolled out of the tunnel that had brought them here, filling the fake station in an oppressive atmosphere and bringing with it a terrible stench of putrefaction. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she fought down a gag and Seto spoke again, drawing her attention back to what was happening, back to him. She thought that all would have been fine, save for the fact that Seto was once again gone, replaced by the other man, the one he insisted was still him, the one with the ancient eyes. What was more, every few seconds she saw something white wrapping around him, some indistinct wave that appeared to be trying to create itself from nothing. "In a two on two battle, everyone plays before anyone can attack. Think carefully before you move. We have to play off each other." When all she did was stare at him, a strange heaviness settling inside her, he frowned. "Sarah?"

Slowly, she nodded her understanding, her gaze firmly on whatever it was about him, and Seto frowned, looking over his shoulder as he tried to see whatever it was she was staring at. Ignoring them, the man in front of her, green tie, played, and she briefly wondered what the stakes might actually be as he began to draw cards. "I'll lay a card face down, and play Man Eating Bug in attack mode." A man sized bug appeared on the field with a hiss.

"Now you." Seto instructed.

Drawing six cards she looked at them carefully. She hadn't made the best opening draw, but did her best considering she didn't have the right cards to go with her monster. "I'll lay two cards face down, and play the Petite Dragon in attack mode." As soon as the cards were down the heaviness intensified, and she felt shaky all over, which made no sense.

Yellow tie drew and appeared pleased with his hand. "I play Corroding Shark in attack mode and lay this card, face down." A shark that appeared to be rotting away as she watched began to swim about in tight circles through the air between them.

Seto drew and laid down cards quickly. He barely even thought about it. "I play La Jinn in attack mode, and activate the magic card La Jinn's Lamp!" The green genie appeared and hovered over his lamp in a haze of mist. "And I'll play one other card face down."

Looking over the first didn't hesitate either. "I'll sacrifice Man Eating Bug and summon Vampire Lord in attack mode." A caped and powerful looking pale figure appeared on the field. The monster smiled at her wickedly, reveling two pointed fangs. "Attack her dragon!" He ordered.

Having expected that, as she had the lowest level monster on the field and no trap cards to help her, she could only stand by and watch as her Petite Dragon was vanquished and a large chunk of her life points were knocked out in a single hit. However, no sooner did the monster explode then a sharp, intense pain hit her hard and she hissed, her shoulders hunching up in reaction. Shaking her head she regained her balance quickly as Seto watched her with sharp, enraged eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She agreed, sending him a questioning glance as sweat popped up along her back. She had been hurt worse before, much worse, but that had been very strange.

"It's your turn again." He said, trying to soothe her in his own way. She could hear it in his tone, although she doubt many other people would. "You need to guard your life points."

Shaking her head a little she drew another card and felt a bit better about what she got. Throwing the monster down quickly she spoke. "I'll play Mirage Dragon in attack mode!" She laid another card quickly, trying to even the odds as best she could. A ribbon like dragon with yellow plate armor hissed as it faded in and out of sight before her like a heat wave. "And then I'll activate Dragon's Gunfire! This card let's me deal eight hundred points of direct damage to my opponent as long as I have a dragon card on the field!" She threw her hand forward. "Hit the one with the vampire!"

The man's partner made a sharp motion, flipping his card. "You've activated my trap!"

A shield appeared in front of the vampire but the fireball blasted straight through it and slammed into the man with the green tie. He screamed in pain and she was taken aback as he began to beat out a small flame on his sleeve as his suit caught on fire. Seto smirked. "Mirage Dragon's special effect negates the use of trap cards. Well done, Sarah."

Instead of smiling, or feeling any sort of success, her eyes went wide. "I hurt him." She breathed. "How-"

"This is a shadow duel, you soulless thing." One of them snapped. "Of course you hurt him."

Stunned into silence she watched as the green tied man moved. "I'll play Black Pendant to increase my Corroded Shark's attack. And since your lamp prevents me from destroying your monster, I'll destroy Mirage Dragon!"

She flipped a card quickly as the shark lunged at her dragon. "I activate Draining Shield!" She yelled. The shark slammed into her shield and was hurled back as her life points jumped up by sixteen hundred, but then dropped by five hundred. The man cursed as she tried to work out what had just happened.

"That was foolish." Seto commented. "And slightly suicidal knowing she had two cards face down. Did you think you'd take out five hundred of her points with the pendant with no repercussions?" Realizing that his spell card must have had an after effect she glanced over as Seto continued. "I see your employer invests in muscle rather than brains. La Jinn, attack his life points directly." A ball of green light hit the man and he shouted as he took a huge hit. "But don't think you're safe yet. I'll also summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" A terrifying warrior covered in bones and spikes appeared with a mad roar. "Hit him again!" The beast leapt forward and slashed him mercilessly with his two handed axe. The man screamed and staggered back, clutching at his right arm. He snarled at Seto, who stared at him with cold eyes. "Sadly, that ends my turn."

The next round began without pause. The man before her drew and then smiled cruelly. "I'll lay one card face down then I play Dark Hole!" A dark vortex appeared in the center of the playing field and a howling wind picked up. As she watched her dragon, and every other monster on the field was sucked up into it, removing them all from play. She pressed her lips together, irritated by that, but wasn't overly concerned until he flipped his face down card. "Then I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back my Vampire Lord!" The vampire rose up out of the ground, his fangs flashing, and the man pointed at Seto. "Attack him directly!"

She saw Seto brace himself as the creature flew forward, the rod gripped tightly in his hand, and a white cape suddenly materializing around him, wrapping him in insubstantial white and sapphire robes. Knowing he was about to be hurt, and badly, she panicked, willing with all her might that she could stop this. "No!" She screamed, and a wave of nausea hit her as her body went stiff all over. The sound of her shout was accompanied by twin flashes from their duel disks. Four balls of light flew out of them, one from hers and three from his, and smashed into the vampire. There was a screeching hiss as it hit the light and bounced backward. As the vampire slammed into the ground and broke apart in a strange wave of black bats the four lights erupted into a mass of white scales, wings, and fury. Simultaneously four enraged roars filled the station and she threw her hands over her ears as Seto stumbled back in sheer shock as four Blue Eyes White Dragons suddenly filled the small arena they had created.

She felt her chest contracting and her vision blurred badly as their opponents looked up at the dragon's with obvious fear. "But… there are only three!" One yelled, his voice full of panic.

"You don't have the power to summon-"

Seto cut him off as she fell to the ground, brought down by a wave of weakness as her perception ricocheted sickeningly and unexplainably between where she was and a place high above the two men. She was completely disoriented by the sight, as well as the waves or rage slamming though her. "White lightning attack! Destroy them! Now!" Four blasts of pure energy went off, slamming into everything in front of them and decimating it. Tiles from the ground and walls were blasted apart, the ceiling cracked, dropping blocks of concrete, and the edges of the track that had brought them here began to melt and warp. As the attack faded, with small lances of lightning sparking on exposed pipes and metal beams she saw the dragons fade away, still snarling and hissing as they wound about one another.

Speechless, and feeling as if she had just run a full marathon she panted harshly as her vision returned to normal. She could feel her sweaty clothes clinging to her skin as she tried to come back to herself. She felt disconnected, and overly full, as if she had slipped back inside her skin and it was much too small to possibly contain her. Before them the two men lay unconscious or dead in the rubble, she couldn't tell which as she gasped for breath. To her right, Seto was winded as well, but not nearly as much as she was. After several moments of trying to keep her her head up she gave up on the fight, and let it tip down. Her legs were crooked to either side of her body as she leaned forward to prop herself up with her arms, her hands flat against the ground as she pulled in ragged breaths. "Sarah?" Seto asked with worry as he hurried over to her, the cape gone.

"I'm fine." She managed to gasp out. "What… what happened? And why is it so hard to breathe?"

He crouched down beside her on one knee and rubbed her back reassuringly. "It takes energy to use magic and you just used more than I've ever seen."

She sucked air through her nose, really trying to make the lightheaded feeling go away, or prevent herself from vomiting, which was equally as likely with the way she was feeling. "You aren't as tired." She noted.

He pulled her up against him so he could take her weight, nicely ignoring that she was getting his clothes sweaty as well, really she was practically dripping as he cradled her. "I didn't just summon four of the most powerful monsters in the world." She panted up at him tiredly in question and he stroked her hair back off her damp forehead. "Shadow duels require you to use magic to call on all your cards. Monsters in particular draw on a great deal of energy. You summoned, and were powering, all the Blue Eyes on the field at once." He stared down at her. "I assume you got yours from Mokuba?" He asked without too much surprise in his voice.

"Yes." She agreed, having completely forgotten that had happened this morning with all her worry over the stocks. Mokuba had shocked her badly when he gave it to her, right before all the duelists came in to get their duel disks, but he had insisted she take it. She had tried to refuse, knowing very well what a rare card it was, and wondering how he had gotten it when Seto seemed so sure there were only three. But he had insisted so adamantly that she had reluctantly taken it, thinking it was far too much in the way of gifts, even if she intended to give it back to him after the tournament. Mokuba had seemed truly relieved, and when she asked him about it he only said it should be hers. She hadn't understood it, but he had left to monitor everything before she could ask anymore about it. "He told me I should take it right before the tournament started, but he wouldn't tell me where he got it. He just said it wasn't yours." She shook her head a little. "This is all super weird." She told him as she slumped into him, comforted more than a little by being pressed against him in the new, but increasingly familiar way. "You one hundred percent owe me a better explanation."

He kissed her forehead. "I know."

"And I'm fairly certain I'm angry at you for some part of this, I just haven't worked out which part yet, or if it's the whole thing." He huffed as she made a weak sort of motion toward the men. "What happened to them?"

He glanced over at them before putting his arm around her and pulling her to her feet, taking most of her weight as she slumped against him in exhaustion. "They won't bother us anymore. We need to go."

"Are they dead?" She asked him.

"No." He replied, glancing around. "This place should have vanished after the duel. There's no reason we should still be trapped here."

She sent another look toward them but decided to let it go for the moment, at least until they got out of here and she got some water, and possibly a nap. "At least the mist is gone. That was disgusting. I wish the smell would go away though."

He frowned as he looked down at her. "Smell? What smell?"

"It smells like something rotten." His frown deepened and her eyebrows drew together. "You don't smell that? It's horrible, like rotten potatoes or something."

"I don't smell anything." He answered as he adjusted the rod in his hand, although he looked a bit perplexed by the reference. She supposed he'd never smelled a rotten potato, as rice was the obvious go-to for the Japanese as far as carbs went, but it was certainly one of the worst smells she had ever encountered. "But I'd rather not have to worry about what that might be." He looked about them and was clearly trying to pick a direction when the ground below them began to shift. Seto backed them up quickly as they both looked down, and all at once a rotting hand shoved its way out between two tiles. Seto cursed and began to back them up quickly, with her managing to get her feet to move in the same direction. But no sooner did they start to back up than the strange magical bubble that surrounded them began to contract, meeting them a few feet from where they started and hemming them in.

She yelped as they met resistance and dug her feet into the ground hard in an effort to push back against whatever this was. For his part, Seto turned his attention forward as a decomposing head with a battered metal helmet emerged from the ground, being pulled up by the hand, which she could only assume was attached to a full skeletal body. Without hesitation, he pointed the rod forward and a blast of gold erupted from it, disintegrating the corpse. "I think that may have been what you were smelling." He said as he studied the now empty hole, and she really thought he was taking all of this in much too calmly. "Apparently this person decided to put a fail safe in place in the event his flunkies lost."

"Good job stopping it, however you just did that, but the wall is still pushing in." She told him, now shoving her shoulder against it, with apparently no effect as it was still inching forward. He was turning to take in the problem when another corpse erupted out of the ground ten feet away and he spat out a curse. Before the word fully left his lips dozens more began to break through the floor of the station, sending tiles and clumps of dirt flying in every direction. Seto's gaze swept over the increasingly small area, and she knew in an instant he couldn't stop all of them.

"Sarah, open a door!" He yelled over the sound of the zombie hoard as he tried to put himself between her and it.

"What door?" She cried frantically. "There is no door!"

"You can get us out!" He told her, his voice tightly controlled. "You have the ability to move between our world and the shadow realm!"

"How?" She demanded, having no idea how to even begin to do that.

"I don't know!"

"How is that helpful?" She cried.

"Concentrate!" He yelled, clearly losing his cool as he blasted another corpse that was crawling too close.

" _On what_ , Seto?" She yelled back, her fear and frustration getting the better of her. The invisible wall was still pushing them forward, closer to the monsters, and eventually to the other side of the wall. She wasn't optimistic about the outcome of either of those things and her fear of small spaces, which this was rapidly becoming, was getting the better of her. "I have no idea what you want me to do! And what's the shadow realm?"

"The place we are now! Use your magic!"

" _I don't know how!_ " She all but wailed, wanting nothing more than to help, but this was beyond her. She had no idea how she had made that light come out of her at the mansion, or how she had supposedly powered any of their monsters as he seemed to believe she had. "Tell me what to do and I will!"

Seto disintegrated a third corpse before whirling around. Catching her face abruptly he bent down and kissed her with a rough, feverish sort of passion. Pulling away, he looked straight into her eyes as he brushed her hair back. "I'm so sorry, Sarah." Before she could wonder what he meant he suddenly had the strange golden rod in front of her eyes. The eye embossed on the item began to pulse hypnotically and she felt her entire being going slack as her thoughts and feelings drifted away to nothing. "Open the gateway." He ordered.

White light exploded around them in a brilliant halation, blowing the ragged zombie army away and causing the circular prison they were in to begin to waver and buckle in crackling waves. Seto's eyes had gone wide as she stood motionlessly before him, thinking and feeling nothing, only responding to the irresistible command. As the world around them began to fracture, letting off loud cracks and sickening flashes, Seto tightened his hold on her, wariness filling his face. "Sarah?" Unmoved she continued her destruction, instinctively knowing there was only one way to fulfill his demand. " _Sarah!_ " He yelled as the ceiling began to fall around them, missing them by a hairsbreadth. "This is going to kill us!"

She stared at him blankly, seeing the end of her toil in sight. "Where?" She asked, her voice flat.

"Where?" He repeated, trying not to flinch as a crack ripped open beside them, spilling cold nothingness next to them. He realized what she was asking a moment later. "My office!" He responded frantically.

Next to him, the white light intensified to such a degree that he turned his face away, trying to shield his eyes in an effort to avoid being blinded. Turning her own face toward the spot she noted she had found the weakness in the thin fabric holding the two worlds together. Directing her magic toward it fully had the rest of the bubble settling slightly while the crack widened further. Within a few moments it was large enough to slip through. "It's open." She told him on a gasp as her magic began to waver. She knew that she couldn't keep this up. Already, after only a few seconds, she felt her body beginning to shut down. "I can't hold it for long."

Seto didn't bother to reply. He simply grabbed her and threw them into the ring of light, squinting his eyes. They toppled out of the gateway against a bone chilling, invisible wind and out into nothing as if they were stones shot from a sling. Seto let out a shout as they flew forward and then they slammed down onto something hard, sending a jarring pain through her shoulder. The impact knocked her mind back into her control and she yelped as they slid across a smooth surface, knocking she didn't know what out of the way as they went. Less than a moment later they fell again, smacking into another hard surface in a tangled, painful heap before going still. Around them other things began to fall over them, mostly papers and pens, although Seto's office phone slammed into his thigh as well, missing her only because she had mostly ended up below him in the final tumble. Across the room she heard Mokuba shout out his brother's name as Roland cursed in shock.

Opening her heavy eyes as she struggled to breathe, which seemed far too hard, she found they were on one side of Seto's large office desk, having landed on it before falling to the carpet. The thick white fibers cushioned her cheek as she looked forward. Her eyes traveled along her arm, which was thrown out before her, and she briefly noticed six glowing lights along her duel band before an out of place fabric above a designer men's shoe caught her eye. Trying to focus on the odd crimson color, one that Seto didn't favor, her gaze traveled up until she saw blond hair and a familiar brown eye. Pegasus was sitting at his leisure in Seto's chair with a half empty glass of wine in his hand. He was gazing down at them with intrigued delight, with something gold glittering behind his curtain of hair. "Oh Bravo! What a marvelous entrance, Kaiba boy! I'm ever so impressed!"

"Get out of my chair, you son of a bitch." Seto snarled right before she passed out, her mind filled with visions of white scales whispering over the desert sands.

Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long. I contracted the plague from the little munchkins I work with and was out for the count for most of the week. Hope everyone is having a good week!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Deferred Tax

Caught off guard by Pegasus being in his office he spat a curse out at him before any more thoughts managed to sink in. The terror of being suspended in nothing for several horrifying moments was irritatingly noticeable and he refused to submit to the feeling. He also refused to think about nearly dying, as emotions related to that were also largely unhelpful now that they were out of immediate danger. Not that the madman wasn't a constant hazard to his physical and emotional well-being, but at the moment he was sure he wasn't about to murder them. Shoving all the physiological responses back he kicked his phone away, as the cord was half tangled over his ankle, his hip letting out a sharp throb from the impact, and it hit the wall with a thud as he sent it flying. "Nii-san?" Mokuba called, his voice full of sweet worry as he rushed over to him. "What just… Are you alright?"

"Out!" He barked at Pegasus as he shoved himself up on his elbow, even more irritated to find that he was sore all over between being hurled about on the train, knocked about by the shadow realm, and generally pained by the use of so much magic, not to mention the rather rough landing they had just experienced. He was really at his limit for any and all forms of tolerance.

"How like you." Pegasus pouted down at him. "I bring you a lovely gift basket, with one of the best vintages to ever be produced, over sixty years old mind you, and all you do is rant and rave." He took another sip of the wine, not budging in the slightest. "What did Gozaburo teach you about proper social etiquette?"

He felt a vein throbbing in his forehead. "I swear to-"

"And you do realize your pretty little waif is about to go into cardiac arrest don't you?" He made an elegant motion with his free hand toward her. "Poor dear. That was quite the show stopper. I've never seen anyone rip through the fabric of two different universes at once before."

His head flew down and he saw Sarah was completely limp on the floor as he lay half over her. Her arm was outstretched, her duel disk letting off odd electrical pops which were no doubt due to the massive amount of electricity she had just produced. He was fairly surprised it hadn't caught on fire or blown up from the overload, and equally surprised he hadn't been electrocuted. Her nose was bleeding, and his white carpet was rapidly turning red as it dripped onto it. A new kind of fear filled him and he quickly turned her to her back as he forced himself to his knees. Mokuba was next to his elbow at once as he set his hand on her neck to find her pulse. He felt it fluttering erratically and no sooner did he locate it than Mokuba scared him witless. "She's not breathing, Seto!" He snapped. "Roland, call an ambulance!"

"I do love the dramatics," Pegasus remarked happily as he set his wine glass aside on the desk. "You two are so much more entertaining than even the best play." Standing up he pushed the chair back as he went down on one knee near her head.

"Do not touch her!" He snarled, his metaphorical hackles raising at the very idea of letting him near Sarah again.

"Shall I let her die then?" He asked tauntingly. "Really, you've only yourself to blame. You should be sharing your magic with her if you're going to have her doing such spectacular nonsense."

"What?" He demanded.

With a flourish, the eccentric game creator set the tips of his fingers on her forehead. Gold light began to pulse out from behind the hair covering half his face, and he gripped his millennium rod tightly as he noted that the other man had re-obtained the millennium eye. That was deeply disturbing on any number of levels, because Pegasus had caused massive disruptions with it the last time he had it, but before he could do anything Sarah sucked in a deep breath, her back arching slightly, before she went limp again. However, much to his relief, she began breathing normally and his hand flew back to her throat. He felt her heartbeat returning to normal and calmed slightly, although he was miffed that he hadn't known that sharing his magic would help her recover. He would have done that when she was in the hospital if he had been aware, and wondered how he didn't know he could do that and Pegasus did. Surely his training in his last life had been more extensive than anything Pegasus had learned. "There we are." The other man said, standing up fluidly, but he noted his shoulders had slumped ever so slightly as the drain hit him.

Mokuba glared up at him. "What did you do to her?"

"Stopped her from dying." He said, picking his wine glass back up and stepping gracefully to the window to enjoy the view. "No need for thanks." His voice was thick with sarcasm. "No bother at all."

Saying nothing for the moment he quickly took the duel disk off Sarah, leaving it on the floor in case it did decide to blow up, and slid his arms under her. Bracing himself he stood up with her, trying not to show the strain of it for appearance sake. Taking her over to the couch he laid her down, noting that Roland was standing in the middle of the office with wide, disbelieving eyes. He supposed for once he couldn't blame the man for losing his cool. "Go get water and a towel." He ordered, figuring giving him something to do for the moment might help. "And a bottle of water for me as well."

"Y-yes." Roland agreed, quickly leaving the room as he forgot to call him Mr. Kaiba for the first time in their entire relationship. He pulled the door shut behind him with more force than necessary, but he ignored that as well. Even he knew that everyone, even the most professional and controlled, had limits. And as he hated magic as much as anyone he wasn't surprised Roland was having a rather extreme reaction to the unexpected display, at least extreme for him at any rate. Putting a pillow under Sarah's head quickly he turned her face so she wouldn't be bleeding in a downward direction, which would be back into her throat. His custodial staff could deal with the stains later.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded once he was assured Sarah was relatively fine for the moment, although he stayed beside her, unwilling to move away with her so clearly vulnerable. His brother had retreated a few feet, keeping the desk between himself and Pegasus, his arms crossed angrily over his chest. "And how did you get the millennium eye back?"

"Don't ask simple questions." Pegasus drawled. "You're so much more entertaining than that."

He refused to be baited, but supposed that getting to the point would be more efficient. "Why would Ishizu give it to you again, old man?" He threw back. "She has to know what you did with it last time."

"I'm hardly the only one with sin in this room, Kaiba boy, do watch how loosely you throw around accusations of wrongdoing." He took a sip of the wine. "And you would have to ask her. It showed up at my home two weeks ago with a note telling me what a perfect time of year it was to visit Japan. Isn't she always so thoughtful?"

He huffed, as thoughtful was not the way he would describe any of the Ishtars. Mokuba darted a look toward him before speaking to Pegasus. "You stole from us." His brother stated. "Return all the duel disks and I'll consider dropping charges."

"All of them?" Pegasus asked, turning his head with one eyebrow raised. "My, my. Is there more than the one I have gone? How interesting."

"Either leave or tell me what it is you actually want." He interjected, his hunch about Pegasus not being the one that had the millennium scale confirmed. Not that the man wouldn't lie, but he was far too interested in that information for it to be feigned. It was clear the other man had come here at Ishizu's prompt, and likely his own compulsion to cause havoc at any given opportunity. The millennium eye just made it that much easier for him. "I honestly don't care how you got it or how you got into my office, although I could hazard a fairly good guess." He looked pointedly at the millennium eye.

"Why I've simply come to enjoy the tournament you've put on." He replied, a mischievous twinkle in his one real eye. "You were so rude to exclude me from your last one and we never get the chance to chat." He crossed his own arms and waited, sending him an impatient stare. "Oh, fine, you eternal stick in the mud. I'll have you know Yugi asked me to attend, no doubt thinking I had been invited as I'm the creator of duel monsters and highly ranked among even the best duelists in the world." He rolled his eyes at that statement, thinking that reading other duelists minds to win didn't really say much about his actual skills as a duelist, only as a cheater. "He seemed to have some concerns about a rogue millennium item running loose and thought I could help. His magic isn't what it once was as I'm sure you know."

"Yugi asked you to come?" Mokuba demanded, clearly outraged by this information. He, on the other hand, didn't know why he was remotely surprised that Motou would do the most irritating and idiotic thing imaginable in an effort to 'help'. He was also sure he had mentioned to his brother that involving Yugi or his nerd herd was a horrible idea. Inviting Pegasus here was like throwing a firework, or a factory full of them, onto a wildfire. Pegasus was about as stable as an avalanche, and even more destructive. If anything this was only going to add chaos to a situation that he already didn't have control over. It was utterly infuriating. He had been wrong yesterday, he was sure now that Yugi deserved Wheeler in every way.

"Clearly, as good as any of his ideas." He deadpanned, hiding his frustration with yet another dangerous complication.

Pegasus pouted at him again. "You never allow me any fun, Kaiba boy. I assure you my intentions are noble."

"Yeah right." Mokuba huffed.

Maximillion ignored this. "While I'll be the first to admit being the villain was really very satisfying in every way, I fear I've fully indulged in that particular role. Really, where else is there to go after narrowly being bested from taking over the world and casting at least thirty people into the shadow realm?"

"There is something very wrong with you." He told the other man.

"I'd very much like to branch out and try this hero business." Mokuba's face scrunched up in horrified disbelief. "Being the victim was hardly fun at all, and I suppose I did venture into the antihero spot for a month or so, but alas, that wasn't for me at all. Far too much brooding and neediness for my taste." Pegasus took a sip of his wine, appearing thoughtful for a few moments before continuing with his insane rant. "But I feel I've made a rather good start so far-"

"By breaking into my company, stealing my newest product, and destroying my tracking system?" He asked dryly.

"We all have to make tough decisions at some point, and I started months ago, before I even knew about your difficulty with this intriguingly mysterious malefactor." His jaw ticked at the reminder of him bring Sarah into this. He was fully outraged by the interference with both her and his company. While he was more than happy that Sarah was now fully financially stable, and that it had nothing to do with him directly which kept him out of trouble with her, he was not at all happy with how it happened. And while what he told her was true, having ten percent of Kaiba Corp in her possession did give him a very sizable margin of error, it also put her at risk. As if her association with him and her magic weren't enough, she was now worth a very real, very substantial fortune. It also chaffed him horribly, no matter how much he cared for her or how strong their friendship was, that she had such an influence over him and his business now. He might know that she would never use it against him, but all his hatred of being controlled and manipulated had roared to life at this information, which had resulted in him saying several things he hadn't meant and now felt annoyingly guilty over. Having never had a real fight with her he found it unexpectedly unsettling and unpleasant. And while he didn't hold it against her, as she had been an unwilling recipient, he had no trouble at all placing the blame squarely where it should be, which was squarely on this madman's shoulders. At his icy silence, the head of Industrial Illusions smirked. "And I so wanted to be there when she told you. Were you surprised, shocked, appalled? I need details."

Mokuba glanced between them in confusion. "Get out." He snapped again. "It becomes clearer to me by the day that you have a death wish. If you're so interested in joining Cecilia then, by all means, go play with this mage."

For the first time in years, he saw Pegasus' mask of insane playfulness crack. His one brown eye flashed in anger and his fingers tightened noticeable on the stem of his wine glass at the mention of his dead wife. "Watch your words." He warned, his voice strained at the clearly painful reminder.

He felt satisfaction licking at him at finally getting under the other man's skin, even if what did it was as cruel a way as he'd ever found. Still, Pegasus had instigated all of this. If he thought he would get through with no repercussions he was even madder than he believed. "I told you not to involve her." He stated, his words icy. "And yet you did so with great delight, putting her in a very awkward and uncomfortable position."

"Are you berating me for taking care of-"

He overrode him at once. "You have no right to assume any responsibility toward her." He snapped. "Sarah has no need to be taken care of by you, or to be interfered with. I made that very clear."

"I'm rather afraid she interfered with me first," Pegasus stated. "Under the circumstances, I think I was more than forgiving, even generous."

"What does that mean?" He demanded. "The first time she met you was when your flunkies kidnapped her."

Pegasus opened his mouth and then paused. He saw him begin to calculate and didn't like that in the slightest. "Ah, Kaiba boy, you really aren't using that impressive intellect of yours at all are you?" His gaze flicked to Sarah for a moment before returning to him, studying him. He had no idea what he was referring to, and honestly didn't care. In all likelihood, Pegasus was simply trying to regain control of the situation.

Before anything else could be said the door opened and Roland came back in with the requested items. He took them and made an indication toward Pegasus as he crouched down and pressed the towel to Sarah's nose, which was still bleeding. "Escort him out." He ordered. "No need to be gentle."

Pegasus shrugged, letting his disturbing intensity slide away and replacing it with his insane posturing yet again. "Now, now, no need to wrinkle my suit." He finished the wine and left the empty glass on his desk as if his office were a bar. "I'll be happy to finish this conversation the day after tomorrow at the finals. Goodbye, my sweets. I do look forward to our next visit." With that, he sauntered out, with Roland following after him at a safe distance when he made a sharp motion toward him.

The door shut again and Mokuba glared at it for a few moments before speaking. "What is going on, Seto?" His brother demanded. "How did you get here? And where have you been for the last half an hour? You both just vanished off the tracking system and all I could get from your camera was a still of you dueling some guy in a suit down in the subway system, which didn't make any sense because you didn't show up on any of the cameras when I hacked into the cities security system to find you. I couldn't match the other man to anyone in the tournament either."

"We got pulled into a shadow duel." He told him, most of his attention on Sarah. He was starting to worry about how much blood she was losing. "Whoever has the scale sent two of his henchmen after us. At least two of the stolen duel disks are destroyed now."

Mokuba sent Sarah a worried look. "Did they hurt her again?" He asked unhappily.

"No, but she used her magic." He told his brother honestly, seeing no reason to lie about it now.

Mokuba sent him a penetrating look, but didn't push for more details at the moment. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." He told him.

"Nii-san, you're kind of a wreck." He glanced down at himself as he kept the towel against her nose. After even the briefest glance he had to admit his brother was right. He was filthy, his clothes covered in dust, grime, and small spatters of Sarah's blood. His shirt was sweat soaked and he was sure his hair was all out of sorts as well. He certainly wasn't in his normally clean and put together state. He realized he needed to go clean up, if only because of all the press everywhere. It would bring up too many questions if anyone saw him like this.

Reaching out with his free hand he tapped Sarah's face. While he was more than capable of carrying her out even with as tired as he was, he was fairly certain that would draw some attention which they also didn't need at the moment. If he could get her up long enough to make it to his car he could at least drive them back to the mansion. "Sarah." He called, trying to rouse her as gently as he could. He switched to Egyptian, trying to convince himself it wasn't because Mokuba was listening and his brother wouldn't understand. "Love, wake up. I need you to open your eyes. Come on." When she didn't respond after a few more taps he reluctantly pulled out the millennium rod from where he had tucked it at the small of his back again.

Mokuba watched him with sharp eyes. "Can you really give her magic?"

"Yes." He agreed, because if Pegasus had managed he certainly could, even if he was tired. Placing the rod on her chest, with his hand over it, he silently willed it to give her magic. The item resisted, clearly disliking the idea of sharing, but he threw his will at it forcefully and a moment later soft golden light pulsed into her. Sarah let out a groan after another few moments and as her eyes fluttered open he pulled the rod away.

Her large blue eyes were disoriented and shaded with exhaustion. "We're… in your office." She stated after a moment, speaking in Japanese, her voice muffled somewhat by the towel. He supposed she wasn't as scrambled this time around.

"We are." He agreed as Mokuba leaned over the back of the couch, watching her with concern.

"Are you okay?" His brother asked.

She blinked slowly, reaching up to figure out what was on her face. He helped her sit up as he spoke. "You have a nose bleed. It's a towel."

She took control of the material and swayed, her eyes gliding over the room, and then to his hand, eying the rod warily. After a moment her attention returned to him, and he saw wary realization in her eyes. Reaching out he held her shoulder with his free hand to help her keep his balance, trying to be reassuring. He was sure she at least remembered he had used magic on her, and likely that she had somehow gotten them here. "Pegasus was here." She finally said.

"He left." He informed her, wondering what exactly was going on in her head, or what conclusions she was coming to. He knew there was a very real possibility that those conclusions might not end up making him look very good in her opinion. She hadn't been the only one keeping a secret, and his was really no less damning. "He won't be bothering you."

"For about a day," Mokuba muttered sarcastically. He sent his brother a warning look and he rolled his eyes in reply.

"How did we get here?" She asked him, her eyes lingering on the millennium rod.

He watched her sharply. "You brought us here."

"I think… I'd like to lay down for a little while." Sarah replied after a protracted moment, having no doubt gotten the confirmation she wanted.

"We'll go back to the mansion." He told her, wanting them all in the same place tonight. "We both need to clean up." He squeezed her shoulder as he turned to Mokuba. "I don't want you to leave Kaiba Corp without Roland."

Mokuba wrinkled his nose in irritation. "Nii-san-"

"Mokuba." He said firmly, refusing to budge on this issue. "We can argue about this after the tournament. Just… have him bring you home. I'm having a hard enough time leaving you here to run things, so accept that I'm letting that particular issue alone and do this for me."

Mokuba puffed his cheeks out but after a moment made a slight motion with his hand. "Fine." He replied, giving in at least marginally. "But for the record, I don't need a babysitter."

"He's not a babysitter." He said, turning his attention to Sarah. "Can you sit up alone?" When she nodded tiredly he let her go for a moment and got up to go get her deck. He didn't care much about the duel disk, he had plenty more, but her deck wasn't replaceable, especially now that he knew she had a blue eyes in it. That was a clever move by his brother, and one more generous than he thought he would have managed. As he was removing it he continued. "He's a bodyguard, one that is actually hired to keep both of us safe, not just you."

Mokuba ignored that for the moment, he thought because it made logical sense and was true, which was a solid counter to his argument. With little tact, his brother changed the subject. "Well, whatever happened it looks like you both made it to the finals." He shrugged, it was no surprise, although the last two opponents had been irritating. "Yugi, Pegasus, and Mai all have five marks, they'll no doubt be in soon too." He nodded. "Rebecca was midway through a duel for her fifth when the alarm up here went off, so I think you can assume she'll be at five now too."

"Fine." He said, uncaring at the moment as to who was getting close to the finals. With both his space and Sarah's secure there was nothing left to do but wait. "We'll talk tonight when you get home. Call me if anything even remotely out of the ordinary happens."

"What about Pegasus?" Mokuba demanded, clearly wanting something done about him, as he slid the deck in his pocket and returned to them.

"If he comes back call the police, although I doubt they can do anything to him at the moment other than keeping him busy. Use that time to leave. Otherwise, don't bother him."

"He had to be lying about Yugi," Mokuba said as he helped Sarah to her feet. "Seriously, there's no way he would do that."

"I doubt he was lying." He replied. "Motou's dumb enough to call him." Mokuba looked as if he was getting a headache and he fully sympathized. He'd had that same headache for about five years now. It came on suddenly anytime Yugi showed up. "But ask if you want verbal confirmation. We both know Pegasus lies as easily as he breathes. I suppose I could be wrong." He turned them toward the door, with Sarah still holding the nose to her cloth as she listened quietly, leaning more of her weight than normal onto him, but managing to keep her feet under her. "My car's in the garage. You can lay down at as soon as we get back." Sarah nodded in tired in agreement and they left, with him fighting off the urge to drag Mokuba right along with him. Still, someone needed to stay and watch, to keep tabs on what was happening, and as hard as it was his brother had been right so many months ago now. He was no longer a child that needed constant protection. He had proved that more than once, although his reckless bravery set him on edge. But Mokuba was his own person, and that very part of him that made him so nervous also made his brother who he was. He would need to accept that, he would need to accept that sometimes Mokuba was going to make choices that he didn't agree with, choices that frightened him. He hoped he would be able to do that, because otherwise he was afraid the bond they had, the one he valued so very highly, might very well fall apart at his feet. That thought was as terrifying as letting go a little, and reluctantly he left Mokuba to take charge.

Shifting, he came slightly awake as he stretched out, his muscles stiff from the use of so much magic, but most of the ache had faded away, and reached out as he searched for warmth. His arm slid over cool sheets and he came awake groggily, missing the soft resistance Sarah was now providing in his bed. Adrenaline tore through him and his head jerked up as the fear that she had been snatched out from under his nose as he slept hit. Fortunately, that fright was eliminated as fast as it came on when he saw her standing silently in front of the ornate glass doors that lead out to his balcony, which overlooked the sea. After they got back to the mansion he had half carried her to his room as she slumped against him tiredly. She had been disturbingly quiet the whole way here, and had said nothing at all as they walked in despite having the eyes of several of his staff note them as they went upstairs together. They hadn't been expected, and more staff than were normally in view were out tidying up, as Ando tended to keep them behind the scenes. Considering she had been shy bordering on paranoid about that it only disquieted him more. He knew very well she remembered what happened down in the subway, but she made no comment about it, not even when they got to his room and he set the millennium rod down on his dresser in plain view. Deciding not to push, as he could only assume she wasn't pleased with him taking over her mind for a few minutes, he had pulled her into the bathroom with him and started the shower, intent on getting both of them clean as it was starting to drive him mad. He wasn't used to being dirty, and he wanted the filth off of him so he could think straight.

Sarah stood quietly where he left her after shutting the door to the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror intently as she swayed in place. Tossing his trench coat aside he pulled his shirt off before taking hold of her again. Sarah had allowed him to help her undress and followed him into the shower. Having been trying to work out how to get her in here for the last few weeks without her turning into a blushing mess, he found the situation much less scintillating than he'd imagined. Sarah was fading fast and it was all he could do to get them both coated in soap and washed off before she collapsed. Sarah had ended up holding onto his shoulders as her legs wobbled below her to keep herself up as he rinsed suds out of her hair, careful not to pull the wet strands. When he was done he kissed her forehead and turned the water off, quickly grabbing a towel and drying her off to an extent, although when he got her to the bed and handed her one of his t-shirts to sleep in she was still damp. Sarah hadn't cared. She had simply pulled the shirt on with heavy arms and curled up under the sheet.

Sarah had fallen asleep in seconds and he supposed no amount of magic sharing was going to keep her going for long. Clearly, she was largely going to need to recover herself. He had spent the next few hours logged onto the mainframe from his laptop watching the tournament progress as he sat in his room with her, getting comfortable sitting against his headboard. He was tired too, more than tired, and after he caught himself nodding off for the third time he gave in to his body's demands, sending Mokuba a text that he was going to bed and to wake him up if anything happened. Mokuba had agreed, telling him that nothing strange had happened since their duel this afternoon. Laying down he had curled up around Sarah before giving into the need to rest.

But she had come awake at some point and slipped away from him. She made a lovely image standing there in nothing but his shirt, soft, muted moonlight reflecting off her pale skin and hair. The navy blue fabric fell to mid thigh on her and was in stark contrast to her white hair, which was tumbling down around her shoulders. She had let it grow out since she cut it, and while it wasn't as long as it had been when she first moved here it was past her shoulder blades, growing faster than he would have thought possible, faster than any normal person's hair. He wondered if it was part of her magic, that it grew fast, or if she had somehow willed it when she got it into her head that he preferred it long. He couldn't see her face from where he was, it was too dark for any sort of reflection in the glass, and the odd stillness about her was strange to him, it seemed almost inhuman. But then, he supposed that made sense.

"Sarah?" He called tiredly.

Silence met his call and he forced himself to sit up, unsure if she had heard him or not. But as soon as he moved she spoke, her voice quiet and emotionless. "Who am I?" She asked him. "What am I?" He went still, his hand on the sheets, ready to push them off. He wasn't sure what to say, how to respond, because he wasn't sure what it was she wanted to hear, and had an inkling it may not be only Sarah he was speaking to right at this moment. At his silence, she went on. "The dreams are real too, aren't they? Just like everything else."

"What dreams?" He asked, as if he hadn't noticed the nightmares, his soft voice carrying easily across the quiet darkness of his bedroom.

"All of them." She replied as she stared out at the sea. "I'm the one scratching inside my own head trying to get out." He frowned, not understanding what she meant by scratching, and she went on. "And when I looked at myself in the mirror earlier it wasn't me that I saw. It's not me that I see now. My reflection isn't my own. I see someone else looking back at me, someone different the same way I see someone else in you, but there's more than another person in me." There was a longer silence as he struggled to find something to say. "Why is your dragon watching me?"

Pushing the blankets aside he got up and walked to her. Stopping behind her, his bare feet sinking into the soft carpet, he took her in. Sarah didn't move, didn't acknowledge him, although she must know he was there. Slowly, he reached around her and slid his arms around her waist, shifting forward so her back was pressed against his chest. He was still for a moment before speaking, and despite thinking about this for weeks, months if he were truly honest, he still wasn't really sure how to say it. It was clearly too late to go back, and his confession in the train car wasn't enough to satisfy her. It was never going to be enough censored the way it had been, and he was never going to turn into a kind enough person to break this gently, even if he was given all the time in the world. In fact, he wasn't sure being gentle about it would be a kindness. "You're watching yourself."

Half expecting a violent reaction of some kind, even magic, he braced himself, but she was motionless, her eyes still out on the ocean. Several long seconds ticked by before she spoke. "I remember… endless mountains of sand, and a colosseum with Mokuba, and a bedroom in a stone palace…" She lifted her arm up and put her hand on her forehead. "But it's all just flashes of the other you or white scales. How can I be human? How can I be anything else? Why does it all feel wrong?" Her voice started to waver, the emotionless facade dropping away. "And why can't I remember? Why should I remember something that never happened to me?"

Leaning his head down he kissed her neck warmly, his arms tightening around her securely as he tried to anchor her. "Come back to bed." He whispered, unable to think of any sweet or soothing words to comfort her. There was nothing, as far as he could see, for him to say to make it easier. This was simply what it was. A reality, no matter how bizarre or beyond her current understanding, and nothing he said would change any of it.

"Why won't you tell me?" She demanded quietly. "Why are you afraid of me?"

"I've never been afraid of you." He told her with firm conviction.

She began shaking then, horribly and abruptly. "I've hurt you somehow." She whispered. "I know I have, I feel… I know I did something horrible to you and I don't know what it is that I did." Her body hitched. "How could I have done that? How could I have let myself hurt you no matter what it is that I am? I could never-"

He turned her around quickly, realizing that the memories must be very close to breaking through if she was saying any of this, if she knew her death had pained him so profoundly in their last life, even if all she had was a vague foreboding of some undefinable event. Leaning down he kissed her deeply, pressing her up against the glass door as he strove to get as close to her as possible. Sarah whimpered into his mouth in an odd cross between distress and desire. Reaching up he slid his hand behind her head, holding her against him firmly, all but forcing her to arch up to meet him. Sarah moaned, pressing back into him, her hands gripping at his bare shoulders. Utterly drugged by the taste of her he shifted so he could get to more of her, sliding the hand that wasn't holding her face around her waist again and pressing her flat against him. Breathless with want he was about to drag her back to the bed when he felt warm wetness against his cheeks. Opening his eyes he pulled back slightly and saw that tears were streaking down Sarah's face. Never sure how to handle such a blatantly emotional display, and fighting off rampant lust he panted down at her. "I'm sorry." She whispered when she met his eyes, hers full of baffled guilt. "I'm sorry for whatever I did."

Some strange part of him, the quiet, vulnerable part she woke up, quivered painfully. "Don't apologize." He demanded, his voice rough. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did." She said with conviction, still shaking. "I'm sorry." She reached up to cup his face and all at once he saw what she must have been seeing for weeks now. He saw Kisara there, resting inside of her, close to the surface, as if Sarah were an outline of herself. No wonder she had been so panicked on the train, no wonder she had run from him and then demanded to know where he really was. "I'm sorry, Seto." Another tear streaked down her face. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop it." He said gruffly, his own emotions getting the better of him. Leaning down he kissed her, roughly, as he cupped her face. He was horrified that she was apologizing to him for being murdered, as if it hadn't been his fault in every way. If he had stopped and thought, if he hadn't been so damn impulsive and sure of himself she never would never have died. It had always been him at fault, him and his damn pride, no matter how he turned it over or analyzed it. That she was here now was a twist of fate that he couldn't explain and didn't feel he deserved. He had never done anything to deserve her the first time, and had made no sacrifice or reparations in this life to warrant finding her again. "Come back to bed with me, love." She shivered against him, her grip on him tightening, and he pulled her back toward his bed. Guiding her away from the window he sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled her into his lap. When she was secure, her legs crooked up on one side of him, he wiped the tears away with his thumb as he held her in place with his left arm. She watched him silently, her large eyes filled with guilt he was sure she couldn't place. Sarah was still shaking, the vibrations refusing to stop since they began, and he made an odd shushing noise he no more recognized than knew he could make.

Her hands tightened around his shoulders for a moment. "I feel crazy." She told him. "Like someone else's emotions are running me over. Why can't I make it stop?" He stroked her face again, reassuringly, and she hitched, a harder shudder hitting her. "The story Ishizu told me was true wasn't it? The story about the priest and the white dragon."

He stroked her hair back, knowing at this point denying it would be more painful than telling her. "Yes." He admitted. "It's true."

"You knew?" She asked, her voice wavering yet again.

He kept stroking her hair back, meeting her eyes levelly. "I knew." He admitted. "I knew as soon as you looked up at me the first time in class."

She stared at him for a long moment and despite always being able to tell if she was lying, what she was feeling when he stared into her eyes, for the first time he couldn't desire anything. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked at last.

"You didn't remember." He told her. "You still don't for all you're feeling what you must have felt before." He rubbed her cheek. "I think you'll remember soon, but I've been thinking that for months." He sighed, seeing that his wish to spare her this pain was gone now. "I wanted…" He began to struggle, because what she was asking for was more than a straightforward and emotionless answer. It was messy, and emotional, and complicated. All of the things that he despised dealing with. Still, she deserved the truth if that was what she was asking for. "I wanted you to have me as I was now. I wanted to have you as you are now. I wanted it to be more than fate. We aren't bound to our last life. You aren't bound to me. If you'd wanted something else, how could I deny you that? You deserved a choice and I didn't want you to deal with this insanity the way I'd been forced to." He finished the last of it, hoping eventually relief from holding this in would come, but not optimistic enough to expect it. "You were happy as you were. That's all I wanted for you. You don't deserve to hurt anymore and this is… painful in ways I can't fully describe."

Sarah stared at him, turning that over with the calm patience that he'd grown so used to. "And now?"

"I'm a selfish man." He replied after a moment as unease at the unasked question, the question of her making a different choice, hit him. It only seemed harder now that they were sharing a bed, when only a few months ago he would have claimed that it would have been no different if she had left before or after such a thing happened. "But I won't try to deny you your freedom or decisions. You aren't mine unless that's what you decide." He tightened his arm around her unconsciously as he contemplated the loss. "I won't stop you from leaving if that's what you want, but it would be safer to wait until the tournament is over. This man will kill you if he can. I need to stop him while I know where you are. I don't know what he'll do if he managed to get you."

There was another long pause as she stared at him and he waited, feeling the odd, stomach-churning sensation of nervousness and rejection. "What if I want to stay?" She asked at last, her fingers tracing his shoulder blades gently.

Profound relief swept through him at the pointed question and he let out a low breath. "Then I'll keep you here with me until we're old and gray."

Sarah's eyes glittered, and he felt some of the tension drain out of her. "That's quite the proposal, Seto Kaiba." She remarked, and he heard in her voice that she was coming back out of the odd emotions and back into herself. "What must you be like as an old man? I mean, you're cantankerous now, how bad will it be in forty years? That's rather a lot to ask of me." With the same skill as always, she managed to cut through the tension and get him to smile, his lips twitching up at the corners.

"I realize it's a daunting task." He agreed, stroking her soft skin with renewed confidence, which felt much more like himself. "But I thought I might be able to convince you it was worth it."

"And how exactly are you going to manage that?" She challenged, her eyes twinkling, driving the fear and guilt away. "Because apparently I'm also very well off now and won't be tempted by all this finery-"

Before she could continue with her teasing he twisted them around so she was sprawled out on the bed below him. She let out a surprised giggle at the sudden move, which he quickly smothered away with a searing kiss. Sneaking his hand up under the t-shirt he quickly found her center and began to rub her firmly. A strangled moan escaped her at the sensation and he let her lips go so he could trail his way up to her ear, whispering to her seductively. "I can think of a few ways. Should I try now?" He asked as he slowly slid one of his fingers inside of her, crooking it up as he searched for that spot that got her to quiver and thrash.

Sarah arched up, trying to angle herself to make it easier for him. "I'm certainly-" She moaned. "-willing to give you a chance." She agreed.

He hummed in amusement, charmed by the sassy streak she tended to keep hidden most of the time. She always managed to bring it out at just the right moment to drive him to distraction. Catching her lips again he pillaged her mouth as he brought her up, pumping his hand in a steady, firm rhythm. Sarah panting against him, her hands gripping at his sides and arms as she squirmed excitedly below him. She was hot and slick, and it took most of his self-control not to replace his finger with something else, but he was intent on getting her to peak, to meet the challenge even if it had been a teasing one, and pressed a second finger into her insistently, stretching her further. That was clearly all that it took, that extra bit of stimulation, because she came apart with a cry of pleasure, pressing her hips against his hand and she pulsed around him.

Kissing her as she relaxed back into the blankets he removed his fingers and grabbed the bottom of the shirt, tugging it up insistently. Sarah wiggled out of it with his help and he quickly kicked his sweatpants off. Catching her quickly he laid over her, kissing her gently as she continued to reel from her orgasm. When she met his eyes, her hazy with lust, he spoke, surprising himself with how gentle his voice was. "I love you." Sarah jolted at the words, having not expected them at all. Pushing her hair back out of her face, as it had partially fallen over her eyes, he went on, driven by the old part of him as strongly as he'd ever been. "I've always loved you. I've loved you since I first saw you." And, he supposed, that was true both times.

Reaching up Sarah put her small hands on either side of his face and drew him down to her. "Show me." She whispered, shifting below him so he could. More than happy to comply he took the invitation happily and slid inside her, groaning against her lips as he settled, his head spinning. Sarah whimpered her approval, her hands gliding back to his shoulders, and then down his arms in an encouraging caress. Unable to keep himself still even if he had wanted to he began to rock inside of her. Sarah let out a soft sigh and he kissed her, finding an easy pace for several minutes before moving out of her abruptly, wanting something different. She made a sound of protest, which he ignored as he used the arm he had under her to flip her over. Sarah sent him an unsure glance as she ended up unsteadily on her knees, as they had only tried this position one other time since they started sleeping together. Leaning over her he kissed her cheek as he grabbed her hip to steady her. Sliding back inside of her he let out an approving grunt as she rocked forward lightly. Kissing at her shoulders he urged her silently back down, until she was flat over the bed, and hissed as the shift had her body clamping tightly around him. Sarah let out a choked cry at the new angle and he took that to mean she approved.

Shifting so he was resting on his elbows over her he began to thrust again, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head at the sensation. Sarah, at an apparent loss, began to grip at the sheets below her as she let out sharp little mewls that were getting progressively louder the longer this went on. Pleased with that, as she only raised her voice when she was very excited he strove forward, gritting his teeth to keep himself together long enough for her to come a second time. Tilting his head down he nipped at her neck on impulse, having no idea where the idea came from, and Sarah jolted all over at the unexpected sensation, coming apart at the seams with a strangled shout. As soon as her body began to tighten he let go, pressing his hips as hard against her as he could, driving her forward a few inches over the slick sheets. Bombarded by pleasure he managed a strangled praise before there was only the feeling of perfection coursing through him. Going slack after several moments he collapsed over her, trying to keep himself up on one arm, but not really succeeding as his limbs trembled.

Panting below him, Sarah's fingers slowly unclenched from around his now twisted and mangled bedding. "That was very convincing." She gasped, sounding dazed. "I suppose I'll stay, but only if we do that again."

He groaned out a tired laugh, pressing his head against her shoulder. "You'll be pleased to know we have all day tomorrow to ourselves."

"Oh." She replied intelligently. "That's lovely news." He hummed in agreement, his tired mind turning over a number of very appealing possibilities about what he could do with her in that amount of time, and disregarding that it was very unlikely that they really would be able to spend all day in bed together. "But we really need to talk about this magic business."

He wrinkled his nose but knew it was true, no matter how much he hated that. "Fine."

"I can see it's a much-liked subject." She sighed sarcastically, stretching out a little below him. "And I'm sure now I'm angry about nearly all of it as you've been keeping secrets." Grumbling, he relaxed, shifting off of her just enough that he was sure she could breathe properly. "I'll scold you tomorrow I suppose."

"Small mercies." He replied as she reached for the blanket. Grabbing a part of is as she dragged it back to them he helped cover them up. Snuggling back against him she hummed in sleepy contentment and went still. Allowing himself a small measure of relief that the worst of the revelations might be over he relaxed as well. With most of this out in the open now he saw no reason for it to get between them. Now he could spend all of his energy and attention on this madman so he could get on with what he now viewed as a very pleasant future with Sarah. Nothing was going to take that away from him this time.

Author's Note: Whelp, that took forever. I'm sorry, I had a streak of writer's block, but I think it is passed. I hope the chapter was worth the wait :)


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Straw-Man Proposal**

Standing quietly at the back of the control room at Kaiba Corp she found herself fading into the background, at least for the moment, which was likely for the best as she felt herself questioning her very reality. That reality had been, while often unpleasant and frightening in the past, understood. The normalcy of it, no matter how brutal, had been comforting in its own way. She knew what to expect, how to react, and what to do. This new one… she had no idea how to handle, had in no way been prepared, and she was struggling. The thought that this had always been going on, without her awareness, was fully disquieting. Toward the front of the room Seto and Mokuba were staring intently at a monitor as Seto typed, trying to do she wasn't quite sure what, and she didn't have the energy to find out, or even care. But whatever it was must be important if it got Seto back here today, because he had been convicted about staying at the mansion with her until he got a call from Mokuba. It hardly helped that every time she looked at either of them she felt an overwhelming crash of guilt hit as hard as a tsunami. The feeling that she had done something terribly wrong to one or both of them was crippling.

All around the large room other employees were busily monitoring and broadcasting the second day of the tournament as the remaining duelists squabbled viciously for the last few spots remaining in the semi finals. At midday it was nearly over, with only two spots remaining, and thirty contestants fighting against not only each other, but the clock. They had been battling throughout the night, knocking several high ranked duelist out of the competition in the nearly ceaseless skirmishes that were going on across Domino. With so much money on the line it was getting truly nasty as duelists lost and regained both marks and cards at an alarming rate. She had expected this to end quickly today, but it was drawing out unbearably, and all she wanted to do was lay back down and forget all of this. She wanted to pretend everything was just the same as it had been last week.

She and Seto had been here for the last hour, since he had reluctantly woken her up in the very late morning so he could force some food into her before they left. It seemed his wish of staying in bed with her all day wasn't about to be granted, although she couldn't remember a time she had slept past eight in the morning, let alone until eleven. Even so she was utterly spent, and looked haggard despite the makeup she had put on, the dark circles under her eyes and colorless lips standing out despite her efforts. If anything she felt even worse than she had when she woke up in the hospital, her head pounding and all her joints aching as if they were on fire. Still, she had pushed past it, hiding her discomfort from him, and it seemed the only thing she had ever managed to slip by him. She figured she just had a lot of practice hiding injuries and ignoring pain, and that made it easier.

Still, it wasn't the pain that was bothering her, not really, not in a way that mattered. What was bothering her was her jumbled mess of a mind, the one thing she had always had firm control of, with the single exception of her short term amnesia after Seto's duel disk debut at Kaiba Land. Since she had woken up in his office yesterday she had felt as if a bomb had gone off inside her skull, dislodging things that had no business being there to begin with. Things that she had never put in or even experienced in this life. But she supposed it was more than that, and she had somehow been storing things for far longer than she had thought possible. She was swinging wildly emotionally, although she had no understanding of why she was feeling anything she was feeling, which made it all the more unsettling. She was tamping her facial expressions down ruthlessly as she stood silently in the corner out of the way, really trying to get herself together before he came back over to her, or before anyone came over to her. She had lost it for a few minutes last night, had come close to fully unraveling, but Seto had been such a very good distraction that she had managed to scrape up a part of herself that she recognized for a little while and push everything else away. Then they had fallen asleep and the dreams had returned with a vengeance, showing her nothing but destruction, fire, and a pile of corpses at her feet, which were no more human than she apparently was. Unable to shake the dream, and now she wasn't even sure if that's what it was, she had retreated inside herself, trying to push back something, push back anything, so she could think straight.

Seto had cast her a few glances since they woke up, but obviously hadn't noticed how poorly she was doing. She was sure he had put her quietness down to either exhaustion or her turning things over that she had learned in the last twenty-four hours. He was used to her considering problems before jumping into anything, so it wasn't really out of the ordinary for her to be thinking about all of this as she calmly complied with getting ready and leaving the mansion and coming here with him. He hadn't pushed the issue, and she was sure part of that was his inherent dislike of confronting strong emotions. The other part was likely his wariness of exactly what her reaction might be if he added any more fuel to this fire of revelations. Her breakdown last night had disturbed him as he had no idea what to do with a crying woman, and he hated not knowing what to do. It was apparent that this whole mess hadn't gone over remarkably well, although in what scenario it would have she didn't know. It was also inevitable that she was going to start asking more questions soon, ones he wasn't looking forward to, so maybe he was just biding his time.

But, strangely, she couldn't seem to think of a question that felt important enough to ask… about any of it. The thought of some strange, unknown person out to kill her seemed almost meaningless at the moment. She didn't care, she wasn't even sure she believed it, although she knew she should be heavily invested in both of those things. And the magic, which she had too much proof of now to deny, especially after whatever it was she had done yesterday was too much to ask about, or think about. She was positive Seto had done something to her mind with that thing he had, although that was all jumbled as well, and that was terrifying no matter how much she trusted him. She was so frightened by that she was in fact trying to pretend it hadn't happened at all so she wouldn't have to think about it, or react to it. The idea that she had lived before was equally as bizarre as the other things, for all that every time she looked in a mirror she saw someone else looking back at her since last night. But that person was strange, and looking down at her hands, or at any part of herself, was just as eerie as her own reflection. It was as if none of it was real, just as she wasn't real. What she was looking at no longer felt right for all it was her body, but the other image that was stalking her, the one even more disturbing than the other woman, was watching her out of every reflective surface at the corner of her eye. The white dragon seemed as if it were her shadow, following her about and casting back something inside of her that horrified her. Even as she thought that she heard, in her own internal jumbled ramblings, the sensation of scales gliding smoothly against each other, the sound of claws tapping softly on stone, and the sharp smell of ozone filling her nose.

Turning her head slightly, trying to shake the feeling, she caught sight of her reflection in a darkened monitor and met the eyes of her double. Suddenly unable to handle any of this, and feeling as if she was either going to start screaming or sobbing as yet another wave of unexplainable emotion hit her, she turned quietly on her heel and left the room before she completely lost her mind. She had been so quiet for so long, and everyone in the room was so occupied, that she managed to escape without notice. Unable to think of anywhere she really wanted to go, and terrified of seeing someone or something else in a pane of glass that she passed by, she simply tried to escape the building. She thought possibly fresh air might dispel this, although she was really grasping at straws. Maybe if she could just figure out what it was that was clawing away at her sanity she would feel better. This unknown was more petrifying than anything else she could imagine. She was so distracted that she barely even thought about hitting the button for the elevator to take her down to the lobby, a place she hated to be, until she stepped through the threshold and into another place entirely.

Gasping in surprise, she stumbled forward and smacked straight into the bars of a large wooden cage. Completely off balance in every way, she stumbled back, trying to right herself, and found that her arms were bound tightly to her sides. Unable to catch herself she fell to her knees and looked down, seeing that a coarse rope was cinched securely around her from just below her chest to the top of her hips, preventing her from moving her arms at all. Her head reared up and she saw she was alone in the cage, which had been placed in a giant stone room covered in hieroglyphics. In the center was a giant constructed pit that seemed to drop down to the very bowels of the earth. On the walls torches flickered, throwing shadows about, the thick pitch they were made of filling the room oppressively with a dank smell. "Don't worry, dear, this will all make sense soon." A calm male voice said.

Turning her attention toward the voice she saw an old man sitting on a throne like chair to her left. He was in an unadorned cream colored robe with a hood hiding most of his face. There wasn't much else she could see, save for an odd glint of gold where his eye should have been. His attention was directed forward, toward the neatly made chasm, and she frowned in confusion as she managed to get her legs under herself and stand back up. Oddly, she felt less disturbed by this abrupt shift in location than she should have, but she had felt disconnected since she woke up. "Who are you?" She asked him, feeling as if she had been to this perilous place before, as if she had heard his voice before. She felt too as if there should be other people here, but she couldn't explain that either, or why she knew with great certainty that someone was going to burst through the one door leading in here at any moment. That didn't make much sense to her, although the architecture in here was now certainly familiar as she seemed to end up in buildings and rooms like this in her dreams on a now consistent basis. "Where… where are we?" He said nothing to either of those questions and she frowned, trying to make out his face, which she felt oddly unsettled about, as if she should know him somehow. "Please, what's going on?"

"Don't you know?" He asked. "I suppose it's just as well you've forgotten what you've done."

"What I've done?" She asked in confusion.

"It's a shame that you got involved again." He went on, his head turning toward a door on the other side of the room, and all she could see was the back of the hood. "This all could have been over years ago if you-" The cheerful ding of the elevator filled the massive room and the floor jolted below her. Stumbling forward she let out a small yelp as she tumbled out of the doors of the elevator and into Kaiba Corps main lobby, her arms as free as they had ever been. As she flailed, trying to get her feet under her, she was abruptly caught by a set of strong arms before she could hit the smooth tile floor.

"Whoa!" Duke laughed in surprised amusement, swinging himself around and using the momentum to right them both. "I'm used to having women fall into my arms, but I really thought I would have to put in a lot more effort with you. Not that I'm opposed to some competition mind you." Disoriented, and deeply disturbed by the vision and abrupt return from it, she pushed away from him at once, tripping backward, although she kept herself up. Duke's playful smile vanished as she caught her balance, noting easily that something was off. He eyed her up and down. "Are you alright, pretty thing?" Ignoring him, as she largely found him unimportant at the moment she glanced around quickly, now fully paranoid that she wasn't in the building at all, and that it was very possible none of this was real for all the people milling about. After all, she had been in a fake train station only yesterday, in a destroyed city surrounded by dead creatures last night, and in a fake cage in what she assumed were the bowels of an Egyptian temple only moments ago. When she said nothing, only clenched her hands, Duke spoke again. "Sarah?" She still ignored him, checking the corners for tell tale lights that could confirm her suspicions. "Sarah?" He said a little louder, trying to get her attention.

Blinking, she turned half toward him, indicating she was at least trying to listen. "What?" She asked him vaguely.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You seem a bit…off. Why don't we sit down?" He indicated a nearby set of chairs that visitors used while they waited to meet with people here, tucked off into an alcove on the side of the large room. She spotted a few familiar faces, including Tea and Yugi, who were sitting at their ease and looking at the screen of a tablet together, no doubt watching the last duel while they waited. There were at least half a dozen other people scattered about with them, all appearing either calm, bored, or satisfied with the outcome. "Everyone else should be here soon anyway."

"Everyone else?" She asked in confusion.

He appeared to be getting more concerned by the moment, although she wondered why he was still bothering her. "For the announcement of where the finals are going to be. Isn't that why you're down here? It's supposed to start in less than an hour. The last two duelists up for it are battling now. All our due disks told us to come here once we got our marks."

"The finals for what?" She asked him, barely listening to him as the scratching started up in her mind again with a vengeance. Her head began to ache even more and she wondered how that was possible.

There was a significant pause as Duke frowned at her. "The finals for the tournament. I saw you placed in them yesterday, although your last duel didn't broadcast for some reason. The Kaiba Corp website is saying that there was a glitch in your disk." The urge to escape grew to a fever pitch at the reminder of what seemed to have started all of this, because everything had been fine until this stupid tournament started. It had been better than fine, and for the first time in her life she had really thought everything was going to be okay for her. She felt tears gathering in her eyes as she realized how foolish she had been to have believed, even for a moment, that anything would ever be normal, stable, or safe. She had been right all those months ago when she first started getting steady paychecks and was living alone in her grubby studio living off small bowls of rice. This place, this job, this life had been nothing more than a vacation from instability and pain. Without another word to him she turned on her heel and walked off toward the exit. As she put space between them he called to her again, worry in his voice. "Sarah!"

Ignoring the call she finally managed to make it outside, and hurried down the steps, dodging the reporters and other duelists that were milling about outside. No one took much notice of her, which was just as well. Turning right on impulse she moved all the way around to the side of the building, away from everyone, and walked about a hundred yards down the small walkway between it and the parking garage. The alley, because that's what it was, was a clean and tidy place. Unlike other alleyways in the city this one was generally well traveled as there was a lot of foot traffic around Kaiba Corp most of the time. There were benches scattered about, as well as street lamps, planter boxes full of flowers, and trash cans. Many people took breaks out here, including her every now and then, although at the moment she appeared to be alone. Most importantly to her though, it was all concrete and there were no reflective surfaces around. Turning, she picked a bench that was a bit more out of the way than the others and sat down heavily.

Feeling completely unhinged she sat staring blankly at the cement wall in front of her before slumping forward over her legs and putting her hands on her face, trying to block them out as well, because they still looked foreign and wrong to her. Trying to force herself to calm she began to suck in large amounts of air through her nose before slowly releasing it through her mouth. She wasn't really sure how long she sat there before she heard someone sit down next to her. She knew it was Seto, she could sense it and see tingles of magic even behind her closed eyes, and that in itself was frightening. Still, she would have been able to guess anyway. "Is this real?" She asked at last. "Are we in a real place this time?"

There was a slight pause. "You're in our world if that's what you're asking. You should be able to see magic in the shadow realm all the time. There isn't much magic in this world. I think that's why it stands out so easily for you."

"I feel wrong." She told him quietly, hardly comforted by his reassurance. "Like I'm not real. Like my body is some strange costume I'm wearing, and I guess it is." He set his hand on her back, saying nothing, but the physical contact settled her marginally. "Did you always know who you were, that you were here before, or did this happen to you?"

"This happened to me." He replied.

That brought her some comfort, not that she wanted to imagine him feeling this way, but at least he was stable now. It meant that she wouldn't feel this way forever and that did help. "How long did this last?"

"The first week was the worst." He told her in that straightforward way he had. "Once I remembered."

"And how long did it last?" She repeated. He said nothing and she kept waiting, wondering who was going to outlast the other. When it was apparent this was something she needed he sighed quietly. "Eight months."

"Eight months?" She repeated in near panic. There was no way she could handle this for that long. She could barely handle it now and it hadn't even been a full day. "You felt like this for _eight months_?"

"You were dead." He told her, his voice clipped. "I hadn't even known you existed and then all at once you were dead again." There was a brief pause. "I grieved for you."

Slowly, she raised her head up to look at him, shocked. He met her eyes calmly, but she saw the shadowed anguish there, saw the other man in him shimmering in and out of existence as he watched her. "I wasn't even real." She whispered, not sure at all how to handle that sort of response, or who it was she was talking to. She wasn't sure if Seto was here all the time, or if this other man, this priest, was in him as well. She was unsure now, unsure if they were the same or different, or if they were somehow mixed up together. The uncertainty didn't help her mindset, although she felt no fear of the other man now. "How could you care if I wasn't real?"

"You were real." He said firmly. "I didn't know you had reincarnated. I never expected to see you again, but you were real." He watched her quietly for a moment before tucking her hair back out of her face. "You being here again doesn't erase what happened before. It doesn't negate it. I had to learn to live with that. I had to learn to live knowing about what happened to us, what happened to you."

Leaning into him she pressed her face against his hand. "I'm scared." She whispered truthfully.

"I won't let him hurt you." Seto promised with real conviction.

"I'm not afraid of this person." She told him, pressing closer to him. "And I'm not afraid of the magic." Forcing herself to sit up she looked up at him, and saw the question in his eyes. She felt her stomach rolling sickly. "I'm afraid of me."

He frowned at that. "What?"

"If I really am this monster…" She shook her head, looking away, because there was no getting around that she was now. "It must be true what that man said yesterday. I must not have a soul if I killed so many people. No one good could do such horrible things."

Seto said nothing for a long time and she just sat there, wondering if she deserved feeling all this, because she truly believed it was a fitting punishment if she had done even half the things Ishizu had implied in her story. If what she saw in her dreams was real, she deserved all of it, and every blow that had ever been delivered to her. It was unforgivable. "Before you were brought to the palace there had only ever been one sighting of the white dragon in Egypt." She turned back to him slowly, startled that he was speaking about this when it was so clear he didn't want to. "The story went that the monster appeared out of nowhere, out of a storm that appeared from nothing, and destroyed a small, prosperous village on the nile." She frowned and he went on. "Only one person survived it, and the dragon was spoken of in terrified whispers because no other beast had ever decimated an entire population before that." Her stomach rolled sickly and he kept on calmly. "But in truth the village had been destroyed before the dragon was released. A group of slavers had lost their pretty white prize, one that would no doubt gain them a fortune if sold to the right buyer, and they came looking for her. She had taken refuge in the village and when they began to burn and loot it she responded to the threat. The men didn't survive the encounter, but they'd shown no mercy to the villagers, slaughtering them without thought, and hardly deserved anything less." He met her eyes calmly and she could see he wasn't lying. "You vanished after that for nearly six years. No one saw the white dragon again until we met on the street in the capital city."

"How do you know about the slavers?" She asked in confusion, thinking that if she had told him this story in her last life she could have lied about it.

"Because I was the one that survived." He told her. "Ishizu told you a story, and most of it was likely true to some extent, but there was more to it than that. There were parts no one knew but us. When we first met, the very first time, I was barely thirteen. I helped you escape the slavers and sent you to my village while I tried to throw them off your trail." He shook his head. "You could have killed them long before that, you could have killed them at any point for any of the things they did, but you didn't. In your last life you had control of yourself in every way. You were lenient, forgiving, and merciful when you had no reason to be. Even when you were injured you held yourself in check. You did kill, but as far as I know it was always either in self-defense or to protect me. And I don't know where you were or what you did before we met, or in the time between when my village was destroyed and when I found you again, but I never once saw a soulless beast when I looked at you. You aren't evil and you aren't a monster." He seemed so sure, so convicted, that she relaxed minutely. "Perhaps you made decisions that you hated, but at least let yourself remember what those were and why you made them before you decide to condemn yourself. You're a forgiving person to everyone else. Give yourself that same courtesy before writing yourself off as a monster."

Absorbing that for a moment she stared down at the ground, believing the story, but also believing that she was as dangerous as she currently suspected. While his words brought her some comfort, it was also confirmation that she had killed. That… she didn't know how to feel about that, just as she didn't know how to feel about much of anything right now. "Did I ever hurt you? Or Mokuba?" She asked him at last. The firm belief that she had was still hanging over her, and she couldn't shake that feeling at all. And last night, for all his attention and reassurance, he hadn't denied that she had. "I can't stop feeling like I did." She rubbed at her head, and hating herself deeply for causing either of them pain. "And I keep seeing Mokuba in the desert running from me. I don't… Please, just tell me."

"You didn't hurt either of us." Seto told her. "You feel that way about me because part of you remembers what happened when you died the first time. You're emotions are leaking over from our last life. That… affected me, but you didn't do anything to me. Even after you died you helped me endlessly. You can't blame yourself for that. It was out of your control."

She supposed that made sense, because just the thought of Seto getting hurt sent her into a panic. She was sure if he died she would never really recover, but that didn't explain the younger Kaiba at all. "But Mokuba wasn't there in Egypt with us, was he?"

"No, Mokuba is new for lack of a better term. I don't think many people reincarnate." She heard irritation in his voice over that and she was sure he was just irritated by all of this. "And I have no idea how we did, so I can't answer that question if you were going to ask."

"Then why was he running from me? Why do I remember that happening?"

"Mokuba entered a shadow duel with this man during my demonstration at Kaiba Land. You allowed him to summon your soul to defend himself. Unfortunately, that transition confused you."

"He summoned my soul?" She sent him a baffled look.

Seto made an aggravated motion with his hand. "You aren't soulless. Your human body is housing what you actually are. You are human, but you're also the blue eyes. When you choose to, or when you're summoned, you separate your two halves. Somehow you managed to create yourself this way." He was watching her with real perplexity, something she rarely saw. Seto was so smart hardly anything confused him and it was clear he had been thinking about this for some time.

"How could I-"

"I have no idea." He interrupted, anticipating her question. "Nothing I ever learned about magic would explain that, or even allow me to hazard a guess. As far as I know you're an impossibility. Shadow creatures used to possess people and hide themselves that way, but it's not what you've done. You've literally made yourself a human body. Only people with magic would be able to see that you were different in some way, and I'm not fully sure they would know why that was. Even in my past life it took me nearly a month to realize that you made yourself." He shook his head a little. "But you've managed it twice now, so it clearly wasn't an accident or a fluke."

"I brought myself here?" She asked, feeling even more confused than she had been.

"In every sense of that statement." He agreed.

She found herself at a loss as well. She had no explanation for any of that, and found nothing related to that in her mind, only a blank fog. She realized she just needed a break from all of this, although how she was meant to get one she wasn't sure. "I just wanted a normal life. I just wanted a crappy apartment and some friends. That's all I wanted when I came here. This is all so crazy."

"I know." He agreed.

"I wish you had told me. I wish you hadn't lied." She admitted, although she wasn't angry about it, not the way she thought she should be. Maybe when this all settled down she would be, but right now the comfort of him when nothing else was comforting was enough to ease the strain around the lie. "But to be fair I don't think I would have believed you, not really. Not even with everything feeling so strange." She felt some of his tension drain away at the acceptance. "I have more questions, but I can't seem to care about the answers. It's not like me. I don't feel like me right now."

"It gets better." He assured her. "Once everything settles."

"We don't have time for that though, do we?"

"No." He replied.

She nodded slowly. "I'm a total emotional wreck right now."

"Yes." He agreed, and she rolled her eyes in amused exasperation.

"Thanks for that."

His lip twitched for just a moment. "You're welcome."

"I don't know exactly what my goal is here." She told him, figuring it was about time they got on the same page. "I thought you had wanted me in the tournament for fun, but clearly that's not what's happening. What is it you wanted out of this from me?"

"You're determined to get into a fight with me." He replied, avoiding the question.

She sighed heavily. "Seto."

"Bait."

She shook her head, not knowing what she thought was going to come out of his mouth, but this seemed to be on target. "Right."

"It's a strategic move." He told her. "I don't want you to be bait."

She raised an eyebrow. "It just happened that way, huh?"

"You're the one that made yourself human again. Don't blame me for taking advantage of the situation."

A strangled laugh left her. "If I thought for one second you were taking advantage of the _situation_ -" She placed significance on the last word, fully implying the new aspect of their relationship, "-I will work out how to release my soul and eat you, or, you know, something ferocious. I don't really think I eat people. That seems a bit much."

His lips quirked up. "Do we taste like chicken? You're the only one I know that could answer that question."

"You have a sick sense of humor." She said, fighting off a laugh despite how weird that was. "What's the matter with you?"

"Mostly you." He replied, standing up and holding his hand out for her to take. "Are you ready to go back inside? I need you there."

"To be good bait?" She teased easily as she took his hand, feeling as if their conversation had stabilized her to a small extent.

He pulled her up, looking guilty, but kept the banter up. "To counter Wheeler's stupidity and lack of charm."

"I take it he made it to the semifinals?" She asked.

"I was nearly rid of him." Seto agreed as they headed back out of the alley. "He was the last one in, as usual. The slow dogs always hang at the back of the pack."

Shaking her head she followed after him, but slowed right before they turned the corner. He glanced over at her and she gave him a strained smile and let go of his hand. "There are about a million reporters right around the corner." She said in way of explanation. While he had said he wanted to be open about this, she didn't think a media storm about his love life right in the middle of his tournament was what he was thinking. It would be better for Kaiba Corp all around if everything was focused on the new duel disk. This would draw attention away from that, away from the product he had worked so hard on. She didn't want to take away anything from all the work he, and the rest of his team, had put into all this. "This should be about the new system, not some sort of crazy tabloid gossip. I don't mind waiting until after the tournament if you want to keep this about the new system." He stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable, then, without a word he took her hand again and walked out into the open. She squeaked in dismay, having not expected this. "Or, we could do this." She all but whimpered, realizing this was going to be insane and thinking she wasn't at the best place mentally to handle it.

He spoke as they headed back up the stairs, unnoticed for the first few yards, and clearly pleased with himself. "There won't be any reporters at the semifinals. Only Kaiba Corp cameras and broadcasting."

"Is that meant to be comforting?" She asked him as anxiety rolled in her belly. She spotted a few reporters glancing over causally, then doing double takes, and all but felt the excited shock at the sight. The first one that noticed lunged over to the cameraman with her, grabbed the lens, and pointed it directly at them speaking to him frantically as she spotted a story. She tried to ignore this, keeping her face blank even as she went on. "Where are we even going?" They had never gotten around to talking about that, and having assumed when this started that she would never make it past round one it hadn't occurred to her to ask him about it. She figured she would end up going regardless anyway, if only to cheer him on.

Seto smirked deviously as more cameras turned to them, a multitude of flashes going off and taking their picture as they moved up the steps and got to the main doors. Letting her go he pulled the door open and held it for her to go in politely. If not for all the attention they were suddenly receiving from their new audience it would have been a completely normal interaction, which made the whole thing even more bizarre to her. "A place where he can't get away."

She stepped through the door, noting that security had been increased since they got here this morning, Roland had put men nearly everywhere, and seeing even more duelist waiting than when she had walked out of the building. Many of them were looking over to see what the commotion outside was as flashes from cameras went off like fireflies in the summer nights. "Are you sure he's even here?"

"Yes." Seto said, his eyes glittering with anger. "He's here, somewhere." He indicated the other duelists, who were surrounded by more reporters and his own crew. "Don't trust anyone here except for Mokuba and I. He could be anyone and he's hiding his magic, but I feel him."

"Wonderful." She muttered, putting a smile on her face. She couldn't imagine this was going to become any less stressful and braced herself for some sort of impact, whatever that might be. She hoped she could keep her head in this game, because the stakes were higher than she had ever anticipated.

Author's Note: No excuses. Sorry for the wait!


End file.
